Site of Masonic Academy

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1840, something called the Hickory Grove School got itself organized out here in Washington County. Now, that school didn't last forever, but what came next was something a little grander.

The land was given over to Graham Lodge No. 20, A.F. and A.M., and in 1849, that lodge built the Masonic Academy. And for a good while, that was it. The only school in the area.

Not one of several, not the biggest of the bunch. The only one. You wanted schooling around here, that was your door to knock on.

The Masonic Academy stood as the sole place of learning for the whole surrounding region, and Graham Lodge kept it going. Then came 1875, and with it the Texas Public School Act. Now, that Act had consequences.

The academy closed. But here's the part worth sittin' with for a moment. When the property was sold, the proceeds didn't disappear into somebody's pocket.

They were given to the Brenham public school. From one schoolhouse to another, the mission carried on. The Hickory Grove School started something in 1840 that a lodge kept alive in 1849, and the whole thing ended not with a whimper but with a gift.

What the marker says

Replaced Hickory Grove School, organized 1840. Land was given to Graham Lodge No. 20, A.F. & A.M.; lodge built Masonic Academy in 1849, only school in the area. Texas Public School Act of 1875 caused academy to close, and property sale proceeds were given to Brenham public school. (1973)