Garland Lodge No. 441, A.F. & A.M.
Garland, Dallas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1873 the Grand Lodge of Texas granted Masons in the pioneer community of Duck Creek (present day Garland) dispensation to form their own lodge. The first Lodge hall, which the Masons shared with two other organizations, was destroyed in a windstorm in 1874. Duck Creek Lodge No. 441 was issued a permanent charter in 1875. In 1876, after 20 months of meeting in a schoolhouse, church, and in the homes of several of its members, the Lodge met in a new hall built on land in Duck Creek donated by John and Elisa Wallace. The merger of the villages of Duck Creek and nearby Embree in the late 1880s to form Garland prompted the Lodge leadership to relocate its hall to the corner of present day Glenbrook and Main Street in 1889. Membership in the Lodge continued to grow and in 1897 a new brick lodge hall was constructed at the northwest corner of Garland's downtown square. In 1903 the name of the Lodge was changed to Garland Lodge No. 441. A new Lodge hall was built at this site in 1960. This Lodge has a long history of charitable work in the community, and has counted among its members ten former mayors of Garland and many other business, civic, military and political leaders.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1873 Masons in the pioneer community of Duck Creek won a dispensation to form their own lodge, only to lose their first shared hall to a windstorm in 1874. Chartered permanently in 1875, the lodge met in schoolhouses, churches, and members' homes before building successive halls as Duck Creek and Embree merged into Garland. Renamed Garland Lodge No. 441 in 1903, it counted ten future mayors among its members.
Why it matters
Fraternal lodges were the connective tissue of frontier civic life, and this one's moves — from schoolhouse to town square — trace the very formation of Garland as a community.
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Related people
- · John Wallace
- · Elisa Wallace
Themes & tags
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