Washington/etc founding fathers were masons.
John Jacob Astor was the founder of the company that pretty much made the town.Astor belonged to the Freemasons, a fraternal order, and served as Master of Holland Lodge #8, New York City in 1788. Later he served as Grand Treasurer for the Grand Lodge of New York.[18] He was president of the German Society of the City of New York from 1837 to 1841 seems like he was not the first mason around.