Roanoke Lodge No. 668, A.F. & A.M.
Roanoke, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Chartered in 1888, Roanoke Lodge No. 668 replaced the W. C. Young Masonic Lodge, which had been meeting in nearby Elizabethtown. Members of the Roanoke Lodge met in a variety of rented quarters until 1908, when they built a two-story frame lodge hall. While the first floor of the building was made available to a number of community groups, the second floor was reserved solely for Masonic use. Throughout its history, the Roanoke Lodge has been an active force in educational, civic, and charitable endeavors. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Chartered in 1888, Roanoke Lodge No. 668 succeeded an earlier Masonic lodge from nearby Elizabethtown, meeting in rented rooms until members raised a two-story frame hall in 1908. The upper floor was reserved for Masonic ritual while the ground floor opened to the wider community. Fraternal lodges like this one were pillars of civic, educational, and charitable life in small North Texas towns.
Why it matters
Masonic halls were among the first permanent institutions in frontier towns, knitting together the civic and charitable fabric of newly settled communities.
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