Tennessee Colony Order of the Eastern Star No. 102
Tennessee Colony, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Tennessee Colony Order of the Eastern Star No. 102 The first Order of the Eastern Star (OES) Chapter chartered in Anderson County, this organization was founded in 1902 for the wives and female relatives of the members of Tyre Masonic Lodge no. 198. Originally known as the Redbud Chapter, it took the name of the Tennessee Colony Community in 1936. Charter members of this chapter, which included members of the Tyre Masonic Lodge, were: Will H. and Annie Calcote, Pete Oldham, Tom Wyley, H.H. Auld, Marcus E. and Tennie Avant, Albert Dupuy, T.F. Wylie and John l. Carroll. Officers elected for the first year were: Bula Graham, W.N. Montgomery, Mamie Dupuy, Fannie Holt, Jesse Graham, Missie Swayze, Maud Montgomery, Emma Swayze, Eva Woolverton, Addie Carroll, D. Welborn Gore, Carrie Carroll, Annie Calcote, Alice Swayze, Vera Vannoy, Mattie Woolverton, E.A. Swayze and Will H. Calcote. The Order of the Eastern Star is always associated with a Masonic Lodge, and its purposes are fellowship and charitable works. Meetings of the Tennessee Colony Chapter were held once a month until 1940-41, when a change was made to hold meetings twice monthly. The chapter met in the Masonic Lodge hall. Membership in the Tennessee Colony OES increased substantially after World War II, with many local and area residents accepted into membership. Members have been active at the district and state level, and their charitable works have played an important part in the cultural heritage of Tennessee Colony. (2002)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1902 as the Redbud Chapter, this was the first Order of the Eastern Star chapter chartered in Anderson County, organized for the wives and female relatives of the Tyre Masonic Lodge. It took the Tennessee Colony name in 1936 and met monthly, then twice monthly, in the Masonic hall. Membership grew sharply after World War II as the chapter's fellowship and charitable work became part of the community's fabric.
Why it matters
The chapter shows how women built their own civic and charitable organizations within the fraternal world of small-town America.
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