Knights Templar Sword (04-04-08)
By Melissa Shipp
For the month of April, the Adams State College Luther Bean Museum is displaying a sword from the Knights Templar order of the Freemasons. The sword belonged to Major Lafayette Head, a prominent figure in San Luis Valley History.
Major Lafayette Head was born in Missouri in 1825. He spent some time in New Mexico where he married Martina (aka Juanita) Martinez and then brought a group of mostly Spanish speaking people from Abiqui, N.M. to the Conejos River in southern Colorado and settled the first permanent settlement in the region which later became Conejos County. In 1856, he assisted in forming Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, the oldest parish church in Colorado. During the Civil War, he joined the Confederate Army and became a field and staff officer. He was Colorado's first Lieutenant Governor (1876 - 1879) for the Republican Party just weeks after Colorado became the 38th state admitted to the Union. While in office, he took a stand in the development of agriculture including the support of irrigation and even helped write some of the articles in the State Constitution regarding agriculture and irrigation. It is my belief, because of his military and religious background, it was only natural that Major Head would be part of bringing the Knights Templar order of the Freemasons to the valley he loved.
The Mason's first established themselves in Colorado in 1858 in Gilpin County, Colo. Although it is unclear when Major Head joined the Freemasons, we do know this ceremonial sword was made around 1865-1882 by the MC Lilly & Co, one of the few ceremonial fraternal sword manufacturers in existence. The sword can be recognized as being from the Knights Templar order of the Freemasons because of a number of symbolic elements such as a red cross in a crown on the hilt and scabbard, and a crusade scene on the blade.
Major Lafayette Head died in Conejos County in 1897. A relative of his, Gwendolyn Hill, donated the sword to the Luther Bean Museum in 1975 where it remains today.
