Ancient Order of Foresters of America

The Ancient Order of Foresters of America (AOFA), also known simply as the Foresters of America, was a North American fraternal benefit society, formed in 1889 by seceding courts of the Ancient Order of Foresters. Each local lodge was a Court, under the administration of a Chief Ranger, and the Forester initiation ritual was based on the legend of Robin Hood.

Structure

 * See our page on Courts of the A.O.F.A. for index of local courts.

Courts of the Ancient Order of Foresters of America were the local chapters of the order, equivalent to Masonic Lodges, operating under the jurisdiction of Grand Courts, which, in turn, existed as subsidiaries of the Supreme Court.

Auxiliaries

 * Knights of Sherwood Forest, a uniformed side activities for Foresters;
 * Companions of the Forest, a "Court" org. for women;
 * Juvenile Forester Society, a youth org. for the sons of Foresters not yet of age.

Membership
In 1902, the membership was counted at over 200,000 Foresters across some 1600 courts.