Paris Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M.

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Paris Lodge No. 27. Now, there's a charter at the heart of this tale, and timing is everything. The year was 1845, and the Grand Lodge of Texas was still operating under the Republic of Texas.

That republic was on its way out, about to become something else entirely, and right there at the very end of that era, the Grand Lodge issued one final charter. The last one. And that charter went to Paris Lodge No. 27, right here in Lamar County.

The last charter of the republic. You don't forget a distinction like that. The man who organized the lodge was George W.

Wright, the founder of Paris itself. Wright had a specific purpose in mind. This lodge would be a refuge, his word and the marker's word, a refuge for transient immigrant Masons passing through.

Think about what Texas looked like in 1845, folks moving through, searching for somewhere to land, and here was a place that would take them in under the square and compass. Over the decades that followed, the members met at numerous locations around Paris. Numerous.

The marker doesn't pretend otherwise. They moved, they gathered, they kept the thing alive. And it stayed alive.

Continuous existence since 1845, the marker says, which is a quiet way of saying through wars, floods, hard years, good years, all of it. They finally built a hall at the current site in 1985. Then there's this: in 1873, in 1956, and again in 1961, a member of Paris Lodge No. 27 rose to serve as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas.

Three times across nearly a century, this lodge put a man at the top. Charitable work, civic contributions, and three Grand Masters. For a lodge born in the final breath of a republic, No. 27 has done just fine.

What the marker says

The 1845 charter establishing Paris Lodge No. 27 was the last charter issued by the Grand Lodge of Texas during the Republic of Texas period. The lodge was organized by George W. Wright, founder of Paris, as a refuge for transient immigrant Masons. Over the years members have met at numerous locations in Paris before building a hall at this site in 1985. Paris Lodge No. 27, noted for its charitable and civic contributions, has been in continuous existence since 1845. In 1873, 1956, and 1961 a member of this lodge served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas.