The Museum of the History of the American Knights Templar, part of Cherkas Global University (Houston, Texas), has completed an artistic reconstruction of Thomas Smith Webb (1771—1819), one of the most influential figures in the history of American Freemasonry, wearing early Masonic Knights Templar regalia.

The reconstruction is based on historical and iconographic sources, including:

Francis J. Scully, History of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America (1952, p. 67) — an illustration of the original apron and sash identified as regalia worn by Thomas Smith Webb.

Charles T. McClenachan, History of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons in New York (1892, p. 2) — a historical portrait of Thomas Smith Webb used as the basis for reconstructing his appearance.

The surviving published illustrations of the regalia were examined using macro photography and digital image enhancement to identify details of their decoration, construction, and proportions. These findings were then incorporated into a full-length artistic reconstruction, with clothing selected to reflect the early nineteenth-century period.

The resulting image is an artistic interpretation based on historical evidence, not an authentic lifetime portrait of Webb wearing Knights Templar regalia.

This project contributes to the study and visualization of early American Knights Templar material culture, particularly the appearance of regalia before the more familiar uniforms of the mid-nineteenth century.

The reconstruction was completed in 2026 as part of the museum's research and historical heritage preservation activities.