DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about San Saba Lodge No. 225. Now settle in, because this one's got courthouse politics, frontier Rangers, a college, and a vigilante mob, all tied up in the same story. San Saba County and Freemasonry grew up together, and the marker makes no bones about it.
Many of the men who helped organize San Saba County were Masons to begin with. So when the first county courthouse went up in 1857, it wasn't long before the commissioners court was letting the local Masons meet right there inside the new building. They were already gatherin' as a group, and now they had a roof over their heads.
Twelve Master Masons took the next step and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas for dispensation to form a proper lodge. That petition was granted in May of 1858. Then, a little over a year later, in June of 1859, a full charter was granted, and San Saba Lodge No. 225 was official.
Now think about who these men were. County officials. Community leaders.
Frontier trailblazers. Texas Rangers. Sheriffs.
Confederate soldiers. This was not a quiet little club in a quiet little town. These were the people shaping the county from the ground up.
And one of the first things the lodge focused on was something the whole community needed: a public school. Members built a combination school and lodge hall, and in 1863 the Texas Legislature granted an official charter to the San Saba Masonic College. That same year, 1863, the Royal Arch Masons were granted a dispensation for a San Saba chapter, and they stayed active all the way until 1869.
Freemasonry was growin', there's no other word for it. By 1879 the lodge had a membership of eighty-four. Eighty-four men.
And yet, even with all that strength in numbers, San Saba Lodge suffered the same financial hardships that were beatin' down most of the Texas lodges during Reconstruction. Hard times have a way of findin' even the well-organized. But here's where the story takes a darker turn.
In 1882, San Saba Lodge No. 225 surrendered its charter. The reason, at least in part, was a perceived association with something called the San Saba Mob. An outlaw vigilante group.
One that terrorized the county during that era. Now the marker doesn't say lodge members were part of that mob. It says perceived association.
But in a small county, perception can be as heavy as fact, and the lodge handed over its charter. You might think that's the end of it. You'd be wrong.
Two years later, in 1884, a new lodge was organized. Freemasonry did not leave San Saba. It came back.
And that, if you're lookin' for a moral in this campfire story, might be it. The county and the lodge had grown up together, stumbled together, and, after a good hard look at themselves, started over together.
What the marker says
The history of San Saba is closely tied with the story of Freemasonry in the area, as many of those who helped organize San Saba County were Masons. Local freemasons were already gathering as a group when the first county courthouse was erected in 1857 and the commissioners court allowed the Masons to meet in the new building. Twelve Master Masons petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas for dispensation to form a lodge; their petition was granted in May 1858. A full charter for San Saba Lodge No. 225 was granted in June 1859. Members of the lodge were county officials, community leaders, frontier trailblazers, Texas Rangers, sheriffs and Confederate soldiers. The lodge first focused on the need for a public school in San Saba as members built a combination school and lodge hall. The Texas Legislature granted an official charter to the San Saba Masonic College in 1863. Freemasonry grew in popularity and in 1863 the Royal Arch Masons were granted a dispensation for a San Saba chapter, remaining active until 1869. Despite a membership of 84 in 1879, San Saba lodge suffered the same financial hardships as most of the Texas lodges during Reconstruction. San Saba Lodge No. 225 surrendered its charter in 1882, due in part to perceived association with the San Saba Mob, an outlaw vigilante group that terrorized the county during that era. A new lodge was organized in 1884, however, allowing Freemasonry to survive in San Saba. (1999)