J. D. Giddings Lodge No. 280, A. F. & A. M.

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to honor every word. Way out in Lee County, there's a story that starts not where you'd expect, not in Giddings at all, but about five miles north, in a community called Evergreen. That's where a group of men petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas, and in 1865, they received their charter.

J. D. Giddings Lodge No. 280, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, was open for business.

Now, Evergreen had its reasons to believe it would thrive. Most places do, right up until the railroad makes its opinion known. And the railroad, when it came through this part of Texas, did not come through Evergreen.

It went to a new town called Giddings instead. You can imagine how that conversation went. So in 1872, the lodge packed up and relocated to Giddings, the adopted city, as the marker calls it, which is a gracious way of saying the original plan changed.

But here's the thing about this lodge. It didn't just survive the move. It wove itself into the fabric of the place.

Over the years, the lodge threw open its doors, sharing its facilities with the public schools, with community organizations, with governmental agencies. A lodge hall can be a lot of things to a lot of people, and this one clearly understood that assignment. Then in 1969 and 1970, they built a brand new hall right here on this site.

Not restorin' something old. Building something new. And when the marker was set down, the record was clear: the lodge continues to be an active part of the community.

One hundred and some years after a railroad bypassed a little place called Evergreen, the work goes on.

What the marker says

Chartered by the Grand Lodge of Texas in 1865, this Masonic Lodge had its beginnings in the community of Evergreen (about 5 mi. N). Relocated to the new town of Giddings in 1872 after the railroad bypassed Evergreen, the lodge has played an important part in the civic life of its adopted city. Over the years, lodge facilities have been shared with the public schools, as well as with a number of community organizations and governmental agencies. A new lodge hall was built at this site in 1969-70. The lodge continues to be an active part of the community.