Masonic Lodge Building
Henderson, Rusk County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Constructed in 1884 by S. M. and J. H. Mims, this building was purchased in 1893 by Clinton Lodge No. 23, A. F. & A. M., which had been chartered in 1845 when Texas was an independent republic. The Masons conducted meetings on the second floor of the building until 1936, when they built a new lodge hall. The first floor of this structure was leased to a grocery store for thirty years, and from 1936 to 1971 it was the site of the Wright Drug Store. The structure remains an important element of Henderson's downtown commercial history.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1884 by the Mims brothers, this Henderson building was purchased in 1893 by Clinton Lodge No. 23, A.F. & A.M. — a Masonic lodge chartered back in 1845, when Texas was still an independent republic. The Masons met on the upper floor until 1936, while the ground level served commerce as a grocery and, for decades, the Wright Drug Store. The structure remains a durable piece of Henderson's downtown commercial heritage.
Why it matters
A lodge chartered in the days of the Texas Republic, meeting above a working storefront, shows how fraternal orders and Main Street commerce grew up together in nineteenth-century Texas towns.
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Related people
- · S. M. Mims
- · J. H. Mims
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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