DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Masonic Hall of Lufkin, up in Angelina County — and friends, this one's worth your full attention. Now picture North Lufkin in the year 1900. A wood-frame building goes up, simple in its bones but mighty in its purpose.
The man who built it was named Will Engram — and before I tell you what he built, let me tell you what he brought to the table. He had moved to Lufkin in 1896. And his formal schooling?
Third grade. That's it. Third grade, and Will Engram became the master architect and carpenter of the African American community, putting up around a hundred homes in the area.
A hundred homes. Let that settle over you like cedar smoke on a still evening. The hall he completed in 1900 wasn't just lumber and nails.
It was a gathering place — the meeting place for all the fraternal organizations of the Black community in Lufkin. Now the Dawn of Light Free Masons had a charter dating all the way back to 1893, and under Mason ownership beginning in 1923, that hall on Leach Street became home to a whole constellation of organizations. The American Woodmen met there.
The Order of Elks met there. The Free Masons Dawn of Light Lodge Number 79. The Eastern Stars.
The Heroines of Jericho. Ceremonies, community activities, the kind of fellowship that holds a neighborhood together — all of it happened under that roof, well into the mid-1970s. But here's where the story takes a turn.
Beginning in 1971, the hall fell on hard times. Hard enough that the city of Lufkin put it on the demolition list. Now a building on the demolition list has one foot in the grave, and most things on that list don't come back.
But Will Engram's daughter wasn't ready to let it go. She worked — she worked — to save that hall, as a commemoration to her father, and as a monument to the Black community he had served with a hammer and a vision. And she succeeded.
Today the first floor of that hall is dedicated to revitalizing community organizations. The second floor is kept as a Black History room. The artifacts found inside were given to the East Texas Research Center of the Steen Library at Stephen F.
Austin State University, where they remain today. The Masonic Lodge, the marker tells us, has served the Black community of Lufkin for over a century — and it continues to serve it today through education and outreach. One of the last remaining buildings from the turn of the twentieth century, still standing on Leach Street.
Will Engram had a third-grade education and built a hundred homes and a hall that outlasted the hands that tried to tear it down. That's not just a building, friend. That's a statement.
What the marker says
The Masonic Hall of North Lufkin was completed in 1900 by the African American Community's architect, Will Engram. Engram moved to Lufkin in 1896 and, with just a third grade education, he became a master architect and carpenter, building around 100 homes in the area. The simple, wood-frame Masonic Hall was a meeting place for all the fraternal organizations of the Black Community. The Dawn of Light Free Masons Charter dates back to 1893. Under the ownership of the Masons since 1923, the Masonic Hall on Leach Street served as the meeting place for the American Woodmen, the Order of Elks, the Free Masons Dawn of Light Lodge #79, the Eastern Stars and the Heroines of Jericho. These organizations utilized the hall for their meetings, ceremonies and community activities until the mid-1970s. Beginning in 1971, the Masonic Hall fell on hard times and was placed on the city's demolition list. The daughter of Will Engram worked to save the hall as commemoration to her father and this monument to the black community. The first floor of the hall is now dedicated to revitalizing community organizations while the second floor is used as a Black History room. Artifacts found in the masonic hall were given to the East Texas Research Center of the Steen Library at Stephen F. Austin State University where they remain today. The Masonic Lodge has served the Black Community of Lufkin for over a century and continues to serve it today through education and outreach, and this historic building is one of the last remaining buildings from the turn of the 20th century.