Constantine Lodge No. 13, A. F. & A. M.
Bonham, Fannin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized at the former county seat of Warren on Nov. 3, 1840, this was one of the earliest Masonic lodges in Texas. Dr. Daniel Rowlett (1786-1848), Fannin County pioneer and Republic of Texas Congressman, was one of the first officers. The lodge moved to Bonham in 1844 and opened a girls' school here in 1867. Since 1878, this group and Haywood Lodge No. 168, I. O. O. E., have jointly operated Willow Wild Cemetery. The lodge hall has also been located on this site since 1878. Members have included many community and Masonic leaders. (1975) supplemental plate: This marker was first mounted on the lodge hall at the northeast corner of Center and E. Sam Rayburn. The lodge moved here in Feb., 1981.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Freemasonry followed Anglo settlers into the young Republic of Texas, and this lodge was chartered in 1840 at Warren, then Fannin County's seat, making it one of the oldest in Texas. Among its early officers was Dr. Daniel Rowlett, a county pioneer who served in the Republic's congress. After moving to Bonham in 1844 the lodge broadened its civic role, opening a girls' school in 1867 and, from 1878, jointly operating Willow Wild Cemetery with a second fraternal lodge.
Why it matters
Frontier fraternal lodges were often a new community's first institutions of learning, charity, and self-government, knitting scattered settlers into a civic order before formal government caught up.
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Related people
- · Daniel Rowlett
Themes & tags
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