Historic Union Cemetery

The Improved Order of Red Men

The Improved Order of Red Men traces its origin to certain secret patriotic societies founded before the American Revolution. They were established to promote Liberty and to defy the tyranny of the English Crown. Among the early groups were: The Sons of Liberty, the Sons of St. Tammany, and later the Society of Red Men.

On December 16, 1773 a group of men, all members of the Sons of Liberty, met in Boston to protest the tax on tea imposed by England. When their protest went unheeded, they disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians, proceeded to Boston harbor, and dumped overboard 342 chests of English tea.

Following the American Revolution many of the various secret societies founded before and during the conflict continued in existence as brotherhoods or fraternities.

For the next 35 years, however, each of the original Sons of Liberty and Sons of St. Tamina groups went their own way, under many different names. In 1813, at historic Fort Mifflin, near Philadelphia, several of these groups came together and formed one organization known as the Society of Red Men. The name was changed to the Improved Order of Red Men in Baltimore in 1834.

Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those used by Native Americans. The organization claimed a membership of about half a million in 1935, but has declined to less than 38,000. -- read more at Wikipedia

1922: Members of Redwood City's Matamora Tribe and Palo Alto's Sagamore Tribe pose, in costume, near the railroad tracks with a large tree behind them. Photo courtesy of the Palo Alto Historical Socity.

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The Improved Order of Red Men

Union Cemetery's Members