Lavaca Lodge No. 36, A.F. & A.M.
Port Lavaca, Calhoun County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first Masonic lodge in Calhoun County was chartered as Lavaca Lodge No. 36 in 1848. After a period of inactivity during and after the Civil War, the Port Lavaca Lodge disbanded. The fraternal organization reappeared in Port Lavaca in 1886, when Indianola Lodge No. 84 moved here from Indianola following a destructive hurricane. It was known as W. P. Milby Lodge No. 84 until 1935, when the name Lavaca Lodge No. 36 was reinstated. Over the years, its members have included businessmen, soldiers, and state, county, and city officials. (1985)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Chartered in 1848, this was the first Masonic lodge in Calhoun County, part of the wave of fraternal organizations that anchored civic life in young Texas towns. The lodge went dormant during the Civil War era, then was revived in 1886 when a lodge from storm-battered Indianola relocated to Port Lavaca after a devastating hurricane. It carried the W. P. Milby name until 1935, when its original Lavaca Lodge No. 36 identity was restored.
Why it matters
Fraternal lodges like this one were early engines of community organization on the Texas coast, and its 1886 relocation preserves the memory of Indianola, a once-thriving port erased by hurricanes.
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Related people
- · W. P. Milby
Related events
- · Indianola hurricanes
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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