Lyons Lodge No. 195, A.F. & A.M.

Duane's take

Here's my telling of the official marker for Lyons Lodge No. 195, A.F. and A.M., over in Fayette County. Now, some stories start with a building. This one starts with a community, and it follows that community wherever it decided to go.

The year was 1856, and out in the little settlement of Lyons, a Masonic lodge was taking its first breath. Lyons Lodge No. 195, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. They didn't have a grand hall to meet in, not yet.

Their first meeting place was a farm, right there in town. Just a farm. Which, if you think about it, is about as Texas a beginning as you can get.

Five years later, in 1861, the members built themselves an actual lodge building. And being practical men, as Masons tend to be, they put that building to double duty. It served as the community's public school as well, and it kept on serving that way all the way until 1874.

Then the Civil War came and went, and Lyons started to thin out. Residents began moving away from the community, and the lodge, loyal as it was to its members, began to move right along with them. By 1869, meetings were being held over at High Hill.

The lodge was on the march. Then after 1874, the original building and the lodge meetings both made their way to Schulenburg. New town, new chapter.

The members erected a new hall in 1876, and that hall stood and served for more than a hundred years. More than a hundred years, friends. That is not nothing.

Then came the 1980s, when the members sold it and constructed a new building. And through all of it, through every move and every decade, Lyons Lodge halls kept making room for school classes, right up until 1900. Today, same as it ever was, the lodge members remain active in civic affairs.

One lodge, more than one home, and a long, steady habit of showing up for their neighbors. That's the story the marker tells, and it's a good one.

What the marker says

Lyons Lodge No. 195, A.F.& A.M. began in the community of Lyons in 1856. The first meeting place was at a farm in the town. Members built a lodge building in 1861 that also functioned as the community's public school until 1874. After the Civil War, as residents began moving out of Lyons, so did the lodge. By 1869, members held meetings at High Hill. After 1874, the original building and lodge meetings moved to Schulenburg. Members erected a new hall in 1876 that served for more than 100 years. In the 1980s, members sold it and constructed a new building. Lyons Lodge halls provided space for school classes until 1900. Today, as in years past, lodge members continue to be active in civic affairs. (2006)