Eureka Lodge No. 371, A. F. & A. M.
Springtown, Parker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Eureka Lodge No. 371, A. F. & A. M. The Eureka Masonic Lodge entered into an agreement with W. L. Hutcheson to build this two-story structure in 1897. Over the years, while the first floor housed a variety of businesses, including Hutcheson's hardware store, the lodge continued to occupy the second floor. Exhibiting influences of the Romanesque Revival style, the building features round-arch windows, a detailed keystone on the upper central window, and a red sandstone cornerstone. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1987
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1897 the Eureka Masonic Lodge contracted with W.L. Hutcheson to raise this two-story building in Springtown, keeping the lodge hall on the upper floor while the ground level housed a rotating cast of businesses, including Hutcheson's own hardware store. Its Romanesque Revival details — round-arched windows, a carved keystone over the central upper window, and a red sandstone cornerstone — mark it as a point of civic pride, and it was named a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1987.
Why it matters
Combining a fraternal lodge above and commerce below, the building shows how Masonic halls anchored the social and business life of countless small American towns at the turn of the century.
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Related people
- · W. L. Hutcheson
Themes & tags
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