DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of the official marker for Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, as recorded by the Texas Historical Commission. Now settle in, because this story has been unfolding since before most Texas towns knew which way was up. June 4, 1875.
That's the date it all started, and what's remarkable is that it never stopped. Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, has met continuously in Bell County from that day forward, holding to its ideals of fraternity, charitable works, and public service without so much as a meaningful pause. That kind of staying power deserves a moment of appreciation before we even get to the good parts.
And there are good parts. The lodge didn't begin as Knob Creek Lodge at all. It started out as Little River Lodge No. 401, established at Little River Academy, an agricultural community eight miles south of the Temple area.
Masonic District 11 Deputy Grand Master Archibald Johnson Rose, who came down from Salado, assisted in getting that predecessor lodge off the ground. Now, December of 1876, the Brethren were meetin' in a gin. Not the drinking kind.
The cotton kind. It was owned by one Early Greathouse, Sr., son of charter member John Greathouse. You can't make up names like that.
Early Greathouse. The son of a founding member, providin' the roof. That's fraternity in practice.
Then came 1879, and the lodge did something that tells you everything about what these men valued. They arranged to build a second story onto the Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse. Education mattered to them, following the progress of freemasonry statewide, and they weren't content to just talk about it.
They built upward, literally, and used that new space as their meeting place. And right around that same time, the lodge changed its name. Little River Lodge became Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, taking the name of the creek running near the school.
The name fit the land, and it stuck. By 1885, the membership was growin' and the area was growin' with it, so Knob Creek Lodge moved to Temple, where they occupied the second story of the Hurley building. Now, buildings have a way of testin' institutions.
After a fire took their third building, the Brethren didn't scatter. They built. A lodge hall opened in 1906 at 16 East Central Avenue in Temple, and here's the part that ought to make you slow down and reconsider what longevity really means: they are still meeting there.
More than a hundred years later, same address. By 1960, the lodge had grown to more than 700 members, drawn from all strata of Bell County residents. That's a phrase worth sitting with.
All strata. Over the decades, lodge members supported churches, businesses, education, government, and social programs across Bell County and beyond. Civic leadership, year after year, generation after generation.
Some institutions wear their history like a trophy. Knob Creek Lodge No. 401 wears it like a work shirt, still on, still useful, still showing up.
What the marker says
Since June 4, 1875, the Knob Creek Lodge No. 401 Ancient Free & Accepted Masons has met continuously in Bell County and remained true to its ideals of fraternity, charitable works and public service. Masonic District 11 Deputy Grand Master Archibald Johnson Rose of Salado assisted in the establishment of Little River Lodge No. 401, the predecessor to Knob Creek Lodge, at Little River Academy, an agricultural community eight miles south of the Temple area. In December 1876, the Brethren began meeting in the gin owned by Early Greathouse, Sr., son of charter member John Greathouse. Following the progress of freemasonry statewide, Little River Lodge remained committed to education. In 1879, they arranged to build a second story to the Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse and used the space as a new meeting place. At the same time, the lodge changed its name to Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, the name of the creek running near the school. As the lodge membership rose and the area began to grow, the Knob Creek Lodge moved to Temple in 1885, where it occupied the second story of the Hurley building. Following a fire in their third building, the brethren built a lodge hall that opened in 1906 at 16 East Central Ave. Where they continue to meet after more than 100 years. By 1960, the lodge had grown to more than 700 members from all strata of Bell County residents and accrued a legacy of public service. Over the years, lodge members supported churches, businesses, education, government and social programs in Bell County. Throughout its history, Knob Creek Lodge No. 401 has provided Temple and Bell County and beyond with civic leadership.