How the BPOE Was Founded: From Actors Club to National Fraternity

Fifteen men gathered in a New York City apartment in February 1868 and, almost by accident, created what would become one of the largest fraternal organizations in American history. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks grew out of a Sunday social club for theatrical performers — a workaround for blue laws that banned saloons from serving alcohol on Sundays — and evolved within decades into a national institution with charitable programs, a formal lodge structure, and a membership that eventually reached into the millions. The story of that evolution is stranger, and more human, than the polished founding mythology suggests.

Definition and Scope

The BPOE — Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks — is a fraternal benefit society chartered under American civic tradition, distinct from religious orders, trade unions, and mutual insurance societies. Its founding date is recognized as February 16, 1868, the date of its first formal organizational meeting in New York City. The name "Elks" was chosen partly for its symbolic resonance — the animal was seen as noble, native to North America, and free-roaming — and partly because a set of elk antlers happened to be hanging in the room where early meetings were held.

The organization's full history of the Elks spans more than 150 years, but the founding chapter is its own compressed drama: a group of performers and their friends transforming a workaround social gathering into a structured fraternal body with officers, rituals, and eventually a national presence. Understanding the founding means separating the theatrical origin story from the institutional machinery that replaced it.

How It Works

The founding sequence unfolded in at least 3 distinct phases, each with its own cast of principal actors.

Phase 1: The Jolly Corks (1867)
The immediate predecessor to the BPOE was a group called the Jolly Corks, organized by Charles Vivian, a British-born entertainer performing in New York. The Jolly Corks met informally, often at a saloon owned by William Sinnott on Broadway, to socialize on Sundays when liquor laws — specifically New York's Sunday excise laws — prevented public establishments from operating legally. Membership was informal, and the group's name came from a cork-based drinking game.

Phase 2: The February 1868 Reorganization
When Charles Vivian and a fellow Jolly Cork member died within a short period, leaving their families without support, the group recognized that pure social camaraderie had structural limits. On February 16, 1868, 15 founding members met formally, adopted a new name, elected officers, and committed to a mutual aid framework. George McDonald, an actor, became the first Exalted Ruler. The number 1 Lodge — New York Lodge No. 1 — was established that night.

Phase 3: The Shift from Performance World to General Membership
The theatrical origins faded quickly. By the 1870s, Elks lodges had opened in cities including Boston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, drawing membership from business owners, politicians, and tradesmen rather than performers. The organization adopted its formal charitable mission — captured in the motto "Elks Care, Elks Share," though the Elks motto and cardinal principles developed over time — and the BPOE's identity as a civic fraternity solidified.

Common Scenarios

The founding story surfaces in three recurring contexts for people engaging with the BPOE:

New member orientation — Lodges typically introduce the founding narrative during initiation ceremonies, connecting new members to the 1868 origin point and the names of founding figures like Charles Vivian and George McDonald.
Lodge anniversary celebrations — Individual lodges mark their own founding dates relative to the parent body's 1868 origin, creating a layered timeline that runs from the New York founding through each lodge's own charter date.
Historical disputes — The precise sequence of events in 1867–1868 has been debated by historians of fraternal organizations. The role of Charles Vivian (who returned to England and died in 1880 without achieving formal recognition from the BPOE hierarchy) versus the organizational work of American-born members like George McDonald reflects a founding tension between the charismatic originator and the institutionalizers who built the durable structure.

The founding of BPOE and the Elks national growth timeline together show how dramatically the organization's character changed between 1868 and 1900.

Decision Boundaries

Two contrasts define what the BPOE founding was — and wasn't.

Actors Club vs. Civic Fraternity
The Jolly Corks were a closed, informal circle tied to the entertainment industry. The BPOE opened membership beyond that world almost immediately. By 1878 — a decade after founding — lodges existed in 14 states, and membership included lawyers, merchants, and local politicians alongside performers. That demographic shift was not incidental; it was the mechanism by which the organization survived and scaled.

Mutual Aid Society vs. Charitable Institution
Early BPOE activity focused on member-to-member support: funeral expenses, sick benefits, practical assistance for members in hardship. The evolution toward broad public charity — scholarships, veterans' programs, youth initiatives — came later, accelerating through the 20th century. The Elks National Foundation and the Elks scholarship programs are products of institutional maturation, not founding intent.

The full scope of what the BPOE became — explored across the theelksauthority.com reference network — is measurably different from what 15 men in a New York apartment set out to build. That gap between origin and institution is, in its own way, the most characteristically American thing about the organization.

References

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