Follow
The New England Order of Protection was fraternal benefit/mutual aid society serving New England. Its foundational principles were equity, benevolence, and charity.
The Order was founded in 1887 and incorporated in Massachusetts. It had splintered off from the Knights and Ladies of Honor, which was one of the reasons the N.E.O.P. was always gender-inclusive. According to the N.E.O.P.'s founders, they chose to split from the Knights and Ladies of Honor because the high mortality and early average death of members in the U.S. South was becoming a financial burden for the Northern members, particularly New Englanders.
By 1896, less than a decade after its founding, the N.E.O.P. had 18,429 members and was one of the foremost fraternal organizations in America. By 1900 (and possibly earlier), the ubiquitous Sears & Roebuck Co. catalogue sold N.E.O.P. pins, charms, and watch fobs. In 1923 the "Supreme Lodge" was headquartered at 52 Chauncy St., Boston. That year it had 329 lodges with 26,275 benefit and 1,250 social members.
Following the Great Depression, the N.E.O.P. experienced the same decline in membership facing other fraternal groups. In 1952, it absorbed the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In 1969, it merged with the Midwest-based Woodmen of the World. The Woodmen building holds its records today.
The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library considers the N.E.O.P. to be a Masonry-based organization, and most rituals of the group were borrowed in whole or in part from the Masons.