Milam Lodge #2, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Texas
Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Masonic Lodge in Nacogdoches is the oldest in the state still operating in its original location. Before the organization of a Grand Lodge in Texas, Louisiana Masons granted dispensation for individual lodges here. Three lodges, Holland (No. 36) of Brazoria, Milam (No. 40) of Nacogdoches, and McFarland (No. 41) of San Augustine, were organized in this way from 1835-37. Nacogdoches' lodge organized on August 16, 1837, honoring with its name Texas revolutionary hero Ben Milam, who was killed during the siege of Bexar. Original members included Isaac W. Burton, Kelsey Douglass, Haden Edwards, John H. Hyde, John W. Lowe, Goerge A. Nixon, John S. Roberts, Adolphus Sterne and Frost Thorne. The newly constituted lodge first met in the Old Stone Fort for three consecutive nights following the chartering ceremony. Charles S. Taylor, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and Thomas J. Rusk, soldier and statesman, were initiated into the lodge that week. Many other significant men in the Republic of Texas were members of Milam Lodge. The Holland, Milam and McFarland Lodges (renumbered No. 1, 2 and 3) organized the Grand Lodge of Texas in Decmeber 1837. Promoting education was one of the chief community activities of Freemasons in Texas; the Milam Lodge helped establish and operate Nacogdoches University in 1845. The lodge also supported several local churches and new lodges in cities across Texas. Milam Lodge met in a number of facilities over the years, using its entire building fund to buy war bonds during World War I before finally building its own home in 1931. The Milam Lodge's tradition of community service and charity continues to this day. (2008)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Chartered in 1837, this is the oldest Masonic lodge in Texas still meeting in its original town, founded when the republic was barely a year old. Named for revolutionary hero Ben Milam, it counted among its early members signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence and statesmen like Thomas J. Rusk, and it joined two sister lodges to form the Grand Lodge of Texas. True to Masonic tradition, it helped found Nacogdoches University in 1845 and long championed education and charity.
Why it matters
The lodge links the founding generation of the Republic of Texas to the fraternal networks that spread schools and civic institutions across the young state.
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Related people
- · Ben Milam
- · Thomas J. Rusk
- · Adolphus Sterne
- · Charles S. Taylor
Related events
- · Founding of the Grand Lodge of Texas
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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When the Republic of Texas chartered Nacogdoches University in 1845, three settlers donated 21.5 acres that came to be called Washington Square. A two-story Greek Revival building rose here in 1858, and during the Civil War it served as a Confederate hospital, then afterward as the U.S. Army's East Texas headquarters. Over the decades the square hosted churches, a Masonic lodge, and a succession of schools, including the first site of what is now Stephen F. Austin State University.
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Chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1845 and financed by public subscription, Nacogdoches University embodied frontier settlers' hopes for higher learning. First housed in military quarters, it gained a modified Grecian building in 1858 that troops occupied during the Civil War. Schools used the structure until the 1930s, and Nacogdoches friends restored it in the 1960s.
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