Tyre Masonic Lodge No. 198

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Anderson County, before Tyre Masonic Lodge No. 198 even had a name or a roof to call its own, local Masons had a choice: stay home or make the trip to Magnolia Lodge No. 113 near the Trinity River. And for a good while, they made that trip.

But on March 3, 1856, seven Tennessee Colony Masons walked into the store of James S. Hanks and decided they'd had enough of the traveling. They sat down, they drafted a resolution, and they sent a petition up to the Grand Lodge of Texas asking for a lodge of their own.

Now, petitioning a grand body for anything takes a certain kind of patience. The Grand Lodge approved the request on January 19, 1857, and four days after that, Tyre Lodge No. 198, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, was officially chartered. Four days.

When the Grand Lodge said yes, they did not waste time. A. L.

Porter took on the role of first worshipful master, and flanking him that first year was a full slate of officers: John Nelson Woolverton, Dr. W. C.

Kenney, John Vannoy, John M. Burns, Thomas Hudson, Joshua Brown Hanks, J. R.

Fulton, C. D. Holliman, and M.

A. Anderson. Ten names worth remembering.

They started modest, meeting in a log building. Then they bought a house for lodge purposes, which is a practical kind of ambition. By 1861, they had raised up a two-story building, and that structure wasn't just for the Masons.

It served as a community school, a place for Sunday worship, and a meeting place for the lodge all at once. A building working three jobs at the same time. That 19th-century structure eventually gave way to a 1949 building, which took over as the hall.

But the work of the lodge had been rolling long before the new walls went up. In the late 1850s, members had already sponsored the Tennessee Colony Masonic Institute, running school classes for local children. Over the generations, members of Tyre Lodge served in the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.

The organization draws members from surrounding communities to this day, still upholdin' the ideals and traditions of those seven men who met in a store and decided a petition was worth writing. That's the thing about foundations. Sometimes seven people, one resolution, and a trip they were tired of making is all it takes.

What the marker says

Tyre Masonic Lodge No. 198 Until this Masonic Lodge was chartered in 1857, local Masons traveled to Magnolia Lodge No. 113 near the Trinity River. On March 3, 1856, seven Tennessee Colony Masons met at the store of James S. Hanks and adopted a resolution to petition the Grand Lodge of Texas for a new lodge. The Grand Lodge approved the request on January 19, 1857, and Tyre Lodge no. 198, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, was officially chartered four days later. A.L. Porter served as the first worshipful master. Other officers the first year were John Nelson Woolverton, Dr. W. C. Kenney, John Vannoy, John M. Burns, Thomas Hudson, Joshua Brown Hanks, J. R. Fulton, C. D. Holliman and M. A. Anderson. Members met in a log building, but soon bought a house for lodge purposes. In 1861, a two-story building was constructed and put into use as a community school, a place for Sunday worship and a meeting place for the Masons. A 1949 building replaced the 19th-century structure as the hall. Throughout its history, the members of Tyre Masonic Lodge have sponsored a number of programs and outreach projects for the community, including the Tennessee Colony Masonic Institute, which provided school classes for local children in the late 1850s. Lodge members have served in various armed conflicts, including the Civil War, World War I and World War II. The organization draws members from surrounding communities as it continues to uphold the ideals and traditions of its founders. (2002)