Editing Kit Carson (section)

=== Freemasonry ===
Carson joined [[Freemasonry]] in the Santa Fe Territory of New Mexico, petitioning in Montezuma Lodge No. 101. He was initiated an Entered Apprentice on April 22, 1854, passed to the degree of Fellowcraft June 17, 1854, and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason December 26, 1854,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mastermason.com/Millennium382/Papers/KitCarson.pdf|title=Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson|last=Brunton|first=Grover W., 33rd|date=April 11, 2004|access-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> just two days after his 42nd birthday. Carson, together with several other Freemasons in Taos, petitioned to charter Bent Lodge No. 204 (now Bent Lodge # 42) from the Grand Lodge of Missouri AF&AM, a request that was granted on June 1, 1860, with Carson elected Junior Warden of the lodge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kitcarsonhomeandmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/GuideYoung.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202234846/http://www.kitcarsonhomeandmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/GuideYoung.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 2, 2017|title=Meet Kit Carson: A guide for young people|publisher=The Kit Carson Home and Museum|access-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> Carson served as Senior Warden the following year and would have served as Worshipful Master, but the lodge went dark due to the Civil War.

The Masonic fraternity continued to serve him and his family well after his death. In 1908, the Grand Lodge of New Mexico erected a wrought iron fence around his family burial plot.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWARDgAAQBAJ&q=kit+carson+1908+grand+lodge&pg=PT188|title=199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die|first=Loren|last=Rhoads|year= 2017|publisher=Running Press|isbn=9780316473798|via=Google Books}}</ref> The following year, the Grand Lodge of New Mexico granted a new charter to Bent Lodge 42 and challenged the Lodge to purchase and preserve Carson's home.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kitcarsonmuseum.org/the-house/acquisition/|title=Acquisition|newspaper=Kit Carson Home and Museum|access-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> More than a century later, the Museum of Kit Carson's House is still managed by Bent Lodge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bentlodge42.org/|title=Bent Lodge No. 42 AF & AM Taos, New Mexico USA|website=bentlodge42.org|access-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref>