Chalk Mountain Masonic Lodge #894 A.F. & A.M.

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Chalk Mountain Masonic Lodge Number Eight Ninety-Four. Now, some stories start with a grand hall, a storied history, a building that's stood since the beginning of time. This one starts with fourteen men and a date: December 8, 1904.

Fourteen charter members gathered and organized Chalk Mountain Masonic Lodge right there in Erath County, Texas. They elected Joe Dotson as their first worshipful master, and just like that, something lasting had begun. A few years on, a lodge member by the name of J.H.

Underwood put up a two-story frame building, finished by 1908. The first floor held a grocery store. The second floor, that was the lodge's own assembly space.

And here's the part that'll stick with you: the brothers didn't meet just any Saturday. They met on Saturdays on or after a full moon. You think about that the next time you're out on a dark country road and that moon comes up big and bright over the Texas hills.

The store on the first floor closed in the 1930s. But up those stairs, on that second floor, the lodge kept right on meeting. Kept on meeting all the way until 1989.

Then came a decision. A man named Stacy Bright donated a new one-acre site, about a quarter mile away. At the new location, the lodge built a concrete block first floor.

And then, on May 6, 1989, they did something that takes a certain kind of commitment to even attempt. They moved the original historic second floor. The whole thing, a quarter mile down the road, and set it right on top of that new foundation.

The old floor, the one where those fourteen charter members and every mason after them had gathered by the light of the full moon, it didn't get left behind. It got carried forward. And today, a dedicated band of masons is still meeting, still serving the area, still keeping the light on up on that second floor.

What the marker says

Fourteen charter members organized Chalk Mountain Masonic Lodge on Dec. 8, 1904. Joe Dotson was elected the first worshipful master. Lodge member J.H. Underwood built a two-story frame building by 1908 with a first floor grocery store and second story lodge assembly space. Meetings occurred on Saturdays on or after a full moon. The store closed in the 1930s but the lodge continued to meet on the upper floor until 1989. Stacy Bright donated a new one-acre site about 1/4 mile away. At the new location, the lodge built a concrete block first floor, then moved the original historic second floor on May 6, 1989. The lodge continues with a dedicated band of masons in service to the area. (2022)