DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back on December 12, 1884, Mt. Hiram Lodge No. 595 received its charter.
Now, a brand-new lodge needs a place to meet, and these men were nothing if not resourceful. They shared a two-story structure near what is now downtown Copperas Cove, splitting the space with a public school. Think about that for a moment.
The same building where children learned their letters by day was where the Masons gathered by night. In those early years, the lodge didn't just hold meetings and shake hands. Members threw in with a local volunteer company of Minutemen, and they helped develop the economy of the whole surrounding area.
This was a lodge with its sleeves rolled up. Then came 1894, and a move. The lodge relocated to Main Street and Ave.
D, setting up above the J. S. Clements and Bro.
Mercantile Store. There's something fitting about a fraternal order operating above the commerce of the street, looking down on the daily business of the town. The membership kept growing, the years kept turning, and by 1970 that growth demanded something new.
A proper facility was built right here at this very site. From a shared schoolhouse in 1884, to a room above a mercantile, to a lodge of their own, Mt. Hiram No. 595 has been quietly shaping this corner of Texas the whole time.
And according to the marker, it's still at it.
What the marker says
Mt. Hiram Lodge No. 595 was chartered on December 12, 1884. Lodge members shared their first facility, a two-story structure located near present-day downtown Copperas Cove, with a public school. In its early years the lodge participated in a local volunteer company of Minutemen and helped develop this area's economy. The lodge relocated in 1894 to Main Street and Ave. D, above the J. S. Clements & Bro. Mercantile Store. Growth in its membership led to the building of a new lodge facility at this site in 1970. This lodge continues to serve the local community.