The Grand Lodge of Virginia was established on October 30, 1778. There were nine (9) chartered Lodges known to have been invited to participate in the organization of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M., of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The nine Lodges and their locations were Norfolk, at Norfolk; Port Royal in Caroline County; Blandford at Petersburg; Fredericksburg at Fredericksburg; Saint Tammany at Hampton; Williamsburg at Williamsburg; Botetourt at Gloucester Courthouse; Cabin Point in Prince George County, and Yorktown at Yorktown.
Responding to a proposition from Williamsburg Lodge suggesting that the officers of the said Lodges, or their deputies, meet in Williamsburg, for the purpose of choosing a Grand Master for the State of Virginia, delegates from Norfolk, Port Royal, Blandford, and Cabin Point met in Williamsburg on May 6, 1777. Matthew Phripp, of Norfolk, was elected President of the meeting, and James Kemp, of Port Royal, Secretary. It was the unanimous opinion of the convention that a Grand Master ought to be chosen to preside over the Craft in Virginia. A committee was appointed to prepare a statement giving the reasons for such action. This committee reported on May 13, 1777.
The report of the committee cited the fact that the then chartered Lodges had been established under five distinct and separate authorities, viz: The Grand Masters of England, Scotland, Ireland, Pennsylvania and America (the last at second hand); that little benefit could be derived from a Grand Master appointed by foreign authority; that recourse to a "Grand Lodge beyond the sea" was almost impossible, hence a Grand Lodge at home was a matter of necessity; that the Mother Grand Lodges claimed the right to elect their officers distinct and separate from any foreign power whatever, and that therefore they were privileged to claim the same right—a right that Masons in all time had enjoyed.
The contents of the report were sent to each chartered Lodge in the State, with a request that delegates be sent to a convention to be held in Williamsburg, June 23, 1777, at 10:00 o'clock A.M., for the purpose of electing a Grand Master.
Pursuant to adjournment, delegates from five Lodges, viz: Blandford, Port Royal, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, and Cabin Point, met at Williamsburg on June 23, 1777. It was suggested that the several chartered Lodges contact their respective Grand Masters in the Mother country and solicit the appointment of some worthy Mason resident within the State of Virginia as Grand Master thereof, and that the authority of the several Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, and Ireland, be thus united in one and the same person. It was further recommended that His Excellency, General George Washington, was a proper person to fill the office of Grand Master. However, if the individual Lodges should prefer some other person, they were to notify Williamsburg Lodge. If no selections had been made by June 1, 1778, a convention, to be called by the Master of Williamsburg Lodge, should proceed to elect a Grand Master.
Right Worshipful James Mercer, President of the Convention, called the convention for the 13th day of October, 1778. The meeting was held agreeably to the call. Blandford, Williamsburg, Botetourt and Cabin Point sent delegates. Robert Andrews of Williamsburg Lodge, was named Master of the Convention. After its organization, the convention proceeded to the election of a Grand Master. Right Worshipful Warner Lewis, Past Master of Botetourt Lodge, was named, but declined to accept. Right Worshipful John Blair, Jr., Past Master of Williamsburg Lodge, was then unanimously elected the first Grand Master of Masons in the Commonwealth of Virginia, was pleaded to accept the office. Thus was created,
“according to prescription and usage, as adopted in London, in 1717, by and through the Representative System, as practiced on that occasion and adopted by constitutional provisions as binding for all time—the first Grand Lodge was thus constituted in America (Quote is from John Dove).”
The installation of Grand Lodge Officers occurred on October 30, 1778.
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History of the Grand Lodge of Virginia
http://www.grandlodgeofvirginia.org