Liberty Masonic Lodge No. 48, A. F. & A. M.
Liberty, Liberty County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Organized in 1848 and chartered the following year, the Liberty Masonic Lodge had an initial membership of eleven. Charter members included William J. Mills, W. C. Abbott, E. T. Branch, B. W. Hardin, William Beazley, Jesse Devore, Reason Green, William H. Mills, and C. J. O'Connor. The Lodge met in a room of the county courthouse until 1851, when a lodge hall was built, the exact location of which is unknown. The building was destroyed by fire in 1858, and records do not indicate where the group met until a new facility was built in 1867 on the corner of Main and Trinity streets. Once again, the Lodge Hall was destroyed by fire, in 1909. A new two-story brick structure replaced the former one at the same location, and was home for the Lodge until 1979, when a new Lodge Hall was erected at this site. The Liberty Masonic Lodge has taken an active role in the community, with its members involved in local government, public education, and community affairs. Liberty Masons have included Texas Revolutionary War veterans, representatives to Republic of Texas conventions and congresses, state legislators and supreme court justices, city and county officers, school board trustees, and one governor of Texas. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in 1848 and chartered the next year, the Liberty Masonic Lodge began with just eleven members meeting in a room of the county courthouse. Fire repeatedly claimed its halls, in 1858 and again in 1909, but the lodge rebuilt each time, moving to its present site in 1979. Its members over the generations included Texas Revolutionary War veterans, delegates to Republic of Texas conventions, legislators, supreme court justices, and a governor of Texas.
Why it matters
It illustrates how fraternal lodges wove themselves into the civic and political leadership of a young Texas from the Republic era onward.
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Themes & tags
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