DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, most lodges have a story. But Constantine Lodge Number Thirteen, out of Fannin County, has the kind of story that starts before Texas was even a state.
We're talkin' about a group that was organizing meetings when the Republic of Texas was still finding its footing. The date on the books: November 3, 1840. The place: Warren, the former county seat of Fannin County.
And right there among the first officers stood Dr. Daniel Rowlett, born in 1786, died in 1848, a Fannin County pioneer and a Congressman of the Republic of Texas. That is not a small résumé.
That is a man who helped build something from the ground up, and he brought that same spirit to this lodge. One of the earliest Masonic lodges in all of Texas. Think about what that means.
The ink on the Republic's paperwork was barely dry. Now, things didn't stay in Warren. By 1844 the lodge had moved to Bonham, and it kept on building.
In 1867, these men opened a girls' school right there in Bonham. A school. That's not a footnote, that's a statement of purpose.
Then comes 1878, and two things happen that are still true today. The lodge hall took up its position on this very site, and Constantine Lodge Number Thirteen joined hands with Haywood Lodge Number 168 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows to operate Willow Wild Cemetery. Together.
Jointly. That partnership has been running ever since. The marker also notes something worth pausing on: it was first mounted on the lodge hall at the northeast corner of Center and East Sam Rayburn Drive, and when the lodge moved here in February of 1981, the marker came along.
The story followed the people, the way a good story should. Over all those years, the membership has counted among it many community leaders and Masonic leaders, names that shaped Bonham and Fannin County in ways both recorded and quiet. Constantine Lodge Number Thirteen didn't just survive the years.
It worked them.
What the marker says
Organized at the former county seat of Warren on Nov. 3, 1840, this was one of the earliest Masonic lodges in Texas. Dr. Daniel Rowlett (1786-1848), Fannin County pioneer and Republic of Texas Congressman, was one of the first officers. The lodge moved to Bonham in 1844 and opened a girls' school here in 1867. Since 1878, this group and Haywood Lodge No. 168, I. O. O. E., have jointly operated Willow Wild Cemetery. The lodge hall has also been located on this site since 1878. Members have included many community and Masonic leaders. (1975) supplemental plate: This marker was first mounted on the lodge hall at the northeast corner of Center and E. Sam Rayburn. The lodge moved here in Feb., 1981.