DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it straight along to you. Now, some stories start with a building. This one starts with men, and what they decided to do on a single spring day.
April 30, 1853. That's the date Hugh Ochiltree, George A. Pattillo, and other leading citizens organized Madison Lodge Number 126 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, right there in what folks then called Madison, the town we know today as Orange.
Two of those founding names carry some real weight, so let's slow down for them. Hugh Ochiltree, born 1820, died 1891, carried the rank of Colonel. He had come to Texas back in 1839, fought in the Mexican War, and put his hand to developing the town of Madison itself.
George A. Pattillo, born 1796, died 1871, had been in the county since 1830. He served as a local official of the Mexican colony of Texas, went on to become a Republic of Texas Congressman, and by the time this lodge was organized, was regarded as a veteran public leader.
That is a long road, and Pattillo had walked every mile of it. The lodge itself was chartered under the name Madison, which was the name Orange carried from 1842 to 1858. So the lodge name was a snapshot of a town mid-transformation.
Now, when that first year of officers was seated, the lineup read like this: William Smith as Worshipful Master, Pattillo as Senior Warden, Ochiltree as Junior Warden, A. H. Reading as Secretary, I.
H. Hutchings as Treasurer, S. Fairchilds as Senior Deacon, N.
Smith as Junior Deacon, and Charles Saxon as Tiler. Eight men. A full working lodge.
And they did not sit idle. Madison Lodge sponsored the town's first public school, running from 1854 all the way to 1879. On the ground floor of the lodge hall, children learned their lessons.
In that same building, church services were held for a number of years. One structure, carrying the weight of an entire young community. Then 1865 arrived, and a hurricane destroyed the original lodge building.
Just like that, gone. They did not quit. A second building was erected in 1878.
And that second one stood until the membership moved forward again, completing the present building, with its banquet room, offices, and other appointments, in August of 1926. A supplemental plate on the marker adds one more chapter: that building was eventually moved from the second lodge site at Fifth and Elm, after the sale of that property, to a new location. But the lodge itself kept right on going, the same Madison Lodge Number 126, continuing at the site of the original.
Buildings change. Hurricanes come. Towns rename themselves.
But that lodge, organized on one April afternoon in 1853 by men who had already survived a republic and a war, just kept meeting.
What the marker says
Hugh Ochiltree (1820-91), George A. Pattillo (1796-1871), and other leading citizens organized this lodge on April 30, 1853. Col. Ochiltree had come to Texas in 1839, fought in the Mexican War, and helped develop the town of Madison (Now Orange). Pattillo settled in the county in 1830, was a local official of the Mexican colony of Texas, a republic of Texas Congressman, and a Veteran public leader. The lodge was chartered under the name by which the town of Orange was known from 1842 to 1858. Officers for the first year were William Smith, worshipful master; Pattillo, Senior Warden; Ochiltree, Junior Warden; A. H. Reading, Secretary; I. H. Hutchings, Treasurer; S. Fairchilds, Senior Deacon; N. Smith, Junior Deacon; Charles Saxon, Tiler. Madison lodge sponsored the town's first public school, 1854-1879, providing housing on the ground floor of the lodge hall--where church services were also held for a number of years. In 1865, a hurricane destroyed the original lodge building. A second was erected in 1878. The present building, with banquet room, offices, and other appointments, was completed in August 1926. (1976) SUPPLEMENTAL PLATE: Moved from second lodge site at 5th and Elm after sale of property to new, but continuing, location of original Madison Lodge #126, A. F. & A. M.