On November 23, 1953, ten members of the Henrico County Division of Police met in the facilities of John Marshall Lodge #2 at 517 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia. The announced purpose of this meeting was to form what is now known as Henrico Lodge #4.

At that first meeting, Brother H. C. Terry, a member of John Marshall Lodge and the National Trustee, discussed with those assembled, what the next steps were to receive a charter.

These conditions were swiftly met and another meeting was held on November 25, 1953. At this meeting, the charter was received from Brother Terry and the members were given the oath of obligation. The following members were included on the charter:

Officers were elected and duly installed, to serve through the end of 1954. The charter officers were:

President: J. R. Lindsey
Vice-President: E. T. Montgomery
Secretary/Treasurer: L. E. Browning
Conductor:  W. F. Day
Chaplain: G. T. Tibbs, III
Trustees: R. T. Harris
G. L. Gillen
W. B. Hubbard

The membership continued to grow, with the fledgling organization meeting several times in the homes of various members, fire stations, community centers, etc. On January 20, 1954, the first meeting was held in a rented facility in the basement at 6000 West Broad Street. By November of that year, meeting space became an issue again. The members went back to the practice of meeting in homes and fire stations until the spring of 1956, when space was rented in a large home on Wilkinson Road.
This facility proved to be inadequate and it was back to the transient lifestyle, once again, while a committee attempted to locate a suitable facility. On October 7, 1959, the members voted to go into debt to build a Lodge building on property located off Evergreen Road, near the Dabbs House.

The first meeting was held in the Lodge Building on April 25, 1960. On February 2, 1964, the Lodge was informed that progress deemed it necessary to vacate the building for the construction of Interstate 64. A new search committee was formed and on November 27, 1964, they recommended that the lodge purchase 4.3 acres on Laburnum Avenue. The membership, seeing this site as easily accessible from all parts of the County, and close to Headquarters, quickly approved the purchase of the land.

A building Committee was appointed and through their dedication, willingness and ability to work for the Lodge, coupled with the assistance of the business and professional men of the Associate Lodge (formed in March 1954 and chartered on 11/25/72), the existing Lodge facility was constructed. It was dedicated on November 23, 1968, in a ceremony including the Henrico Police staff, County officials, and State F.O.P. representatives. Ms. Bettie Lindsey (President of the newly formed Ladies Auxiliary, 8/6/68), W. J. Ennis (President of the Associate Lodge), and L. P. Rotelli (Chairman of the building Committee), performed the ribbon cutting ceremony. Charter members of the Auxiliary that are still in the organization are Mary Ann O’Keeffe, Chris Patterson, and Bonnie Stinson.

Also in 1968, the Lodge assisted in the sponsorship of an American Quarter Horse Show, selling ads to raise funds for the Lodge. This program continued through 1973.

Fund-raising has always been an issue and the Lodge has undertaken many activities over the years to provide operating capital. Beginning in 1974, Bingo was the main producer of revenue and remained such until 1994. Sponsoring shows (such as The New Christy Minstrels), selling jams and jellies and Beach music concerts, through professional solicitors, were all utilized. Lodge members have sold Brunswick stew, personal alarms and County Vehicle licenses as ways to keep the lodge running. We have raffled off cars, motorcycles, cruises and just about every other thing imaginable.

Some of the issues that the Lodge faces today have roots from long ago. In 1974, the membership was concerned with working conditions and started dialog with County management on the issues of retirement, overtime, and health care insurance. We will probably continue to deal with these issues for the foreseeable future.

In 1979, the Barry Wayne Maham Scholarship program was instituted, after the untimely death of Barry in 1978. This program has run, essentially unchanged, to this time.

In 1981, plans were submitted for a physical expansion of the Lodge facility. The “Lounge” building was conceived, was constructed and was open for business in 1982.

In 1983, a Committee was formed to investigate a “take-home car” program. This committee’s work, supported by the Chief of Police, L. T. Sheppard, was implemented in the summer of 1984.

In the fall of 1984, it was discovered that the son of Brother W. L. Davis, was suffering from Leukemia. The “Michael Davis Fund” was established and raised money to defray the costs of transportation, treatment, etc. for this young man. This “fund”, continued to exist in the form of the Henrico FOP Foundation until 2000, when it was replaced by a 100% charitable organization, known as the Henrico Lodge Charitable Foundation.

From 1968 until 1992, the Lodge sponsored a “memorial breakfast”, which was held at the Lodge in conjunction with the Henrico Police’s memorial ceremony, each May. The Auxiliary performed their own “candle” ceremony to honor those that had made the ultimate sacrifice. On May 10, 1993, Henrico Lodge #4 hosted a Memorial Dinner and awards ceremony at the Richmond Hyatt. Approximately 500 people, from all over the metro area, attended this event, which was fully funded by the lodge. This was also the year that we began awarding the “Edward F. Sulzbach” award to a deserving individual who was not a member of the FOP. A member of the year award, named for charter president J. Robert Lindsey, was begun in 1996. The memorial dinner was held for four consecutive years, our last one conducted in 1996.

As revenues dropped and prices soared, the Lodge had to re-think its Memorial Dinner. In 1997, we began our current practice of co-hosting, with the Division, an awards ceremony and a separate Memorial service, at Memorial Park. The Auxiliary continued to assist by supplying and serving snacks and drinks, at the Memorial site. We will continue to support the Division’s awards ceremony, but plans are underway for a “Memorial Brunch” with a service, to be conducted at the Lodge building.

In 1996, we conducted our first “Shop with a Cop” program, and have had a successful program each year since. In 2000, the Henrico Lodge Charitable Foundation was formed, to allow our supporters to claim a tax exemption for their donations. This led to bigger donations, and as a result, more children have been helped. Now called the “FOP Cops and Kids” program, approximately three hundred thousand dollars ($300, 000.00) has been spent on this worthwhile program. We also use the money donated to the Foundation to assist all F.O.P other members of the First Responder community, when they are in need. Additionally, we assist worthy community charities and programs, working as a “clearinghouse” of sorts to maintain a positive presence in the neighborhoods that we live and work in.

In recent years, we sold our Lodge property to Henrico County to make room for the Health Department administrative building and the East End Community Center. We continue to use the Glen Allen American Legion as our meeting place, as we prepare for the rest of our march forward.

Over the years, Henrico Lodge #4 has been active in local and statewide politics, and has been fortunate to have many of our members serve in various State FOP offices and on many committees. The direction of the Lodge has always been moving forward, even though there have been some curves in the road. For the past sixty-four (plus) years, the Henrico Fraternal Order of Police has been the voice for Law Enforcement in Henrico County and a leader in Law Enforcement in the Richmond Metropolitan area. With the trust and support of our friends and neighbors, sharing the commitment to making our communities the best that they can be, we hope to continue to do so for many years to come.