DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Palestine Lodge No. 31, A. F. and A. M. — so let the record show where this story comes from.
Now, if you want to talk about organizations that have seen Anderson County grow from the ground up, you'd be hard pressed to find one older than the Palestine Masonic Lodge. This outfit got its start on November 21, 1846 — and just sit with that date for a moment. Texas had only been a state for less than two years.
The courthouse square in Palestine wasn't exactly bustling with grand buildings. But twenty-two charter members gathered anyway, meeting under a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Texas, and they set something in motion. For the first two years, those brothers met in each other's homes.
No dedicated hall, no ceremony of place — just men committed enough to show up wherever there was a roof and a door. Then in 1848, the group was officially chartered as Lodge No. 31, and that same year they put up a lodge building on the west side of the courthouse square. A home of their own at last.
But here's where it gets interesting. These Masons weren't content just to have a meeting room. In 1850, they built a two-story structure — first floor given over to a school for boys in the community, second floor reserved for their meeting hall.
They were building a town as much as a lodge. And they weren't done. By 1852, they had constructed a brick schoolhouse for girls.
Brick. When plenty of structures in the county were still wood and wishful thinking. Then came the third lodge building, and whoever designed it had ambition to spare.
Three floors. The first floor was split into three separate stores, rented out to area merchants. The second floor — now this is a detail worth savoring — was styled as the city's first opera house.
And up on the third floor, quiet above all that commerce and culture, sat the Lodge meeting room itself. The Masons have met in many other sites over the years beyond those buildings. And among the prominent members who passed through their ranks was John H.
Reagan — U.S. Congressman and the first Texas Railroad Commissioner. The marker notes that the Lodge continues to serve the community as it has for more than a hundred and fifty years.
Twenty-two men meeting in someone's parlor in 1846. That's where it started. Not a bad return on a dispensation.
What the marker says
Established on November 21, 1846, the Palestine Masonic Lodge is one of the oldest organizations in Anderson County. Established by 22 charter members meeting under a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Texas, the group was officially chartered as Lodge No. 31 in 1848. For the first two years meetings were held in members' homes until a lodge building was erected on the west side of the courthouse square in 1848. In 1850 the Masons built a 2-story structure to provide a school for boys in the community on the first floor and a meeting hall on the second level. Their commitment to education continued when the Masons constructed a brick schoolhouse for girls in 1852. The third Lodge building contained three floors: the first floor was split into three separate stores for rental to area merchants; the second floor was styled as the city's first opera house; and the third floor housed the Lodge meeting room. The Masons have met in many other sites over the years. Among its many prominent members was John H. Reagan, U.S. Congressman and first Texas Railroad Commissioner. The Masonic Lodge continues to serve the community as it has for more than 150 years. (1996)