LODGE  HISTORY

The first Masonic lodge in what was later to become Waller County was the Brazos Lodge #75. It received it's dispensation in 1850 and it's charter was dated January 24, 1851. Meetings were held the first Saturday after the full moon each month. In those days when members walked, rode horses or in a buggy the meetings were timed so the brothers could see their way home after the meetings.

Brazos Lodge was first located in Heathville just west of the present day Hempstead which in those days was in Austin County. It was moved to Salem Church in 1854. Two years later it moved again to Rock Island. From there it moved to Hempstead in 1858. The Brazos Lodge was demised on June 13, 1864.

The entered date on the petition to create a Lodge in Hempstead was June 5 1893 when 22 Masons submitted a petition for the new lodge. The petitioners were,

E.A. Pace J.E.McCluskin Sam Farquhar John E. Mills
D.D. Robertson A. Applewhite H.C. Tomkins J.W. Renfro
S. Schwartz H.W. Rankin W.M. Lupton E.F. Johns
M.S. Urban E.H. Jones F.W. Zadon Jacob Hauser
J. Blassingame G.N. Phelps J.F. Christoph E.D. Dixon
L. Mahan J.H. Morrison
According to organizational information charter, the date was December 6, 1893. Meeting date was set for Friday before! full moon of each month. Officers' signatures on the returns of Hempstead Lodge Under Dispensation to the Grand Lodge, July 24, 1893 were:

Worshipful Master ........................... E.A. Pace
Senior Warden ......................... J.E. McCluskin
Junior Warden ............................Sam Farquhar
Treasurer ................................... W.W. Rankin
Secretary ................................... W.M. Lupton
Senior Deacon ................................ E.F. Johns
Junior Deacon ................................M.S. Urban
Tiler ......................................... J. Blassingame

The first Worshipful Master was E.A. Pace who was also the last Worshipful Master of the Brazos Lodge. Meeting date for the Lodge was still reckoned by the monthly full moon when the history was published in 1973. Lodges meeting according to the phases of the moon were referred to as a lunar lodge. Meeting place has not been so constant, however, as it has changed a number of times. An 1897 issue of the local paper indicated that meetings were held in the Masonic Hall. Within the recall of living members, early meetings were held in the old Fireman's Hall on the city square, then in quarters over the Mistro (later Hill's Store), from thence to the old Farmer's National Bank building, and finally, in 1957, to its present quarters in the Masonic Lodge Hall at Main and 7th Street.

The Hempstead Lodge has had a number of Grand (state) officers within its membership. Interestingly a report concerning Lodge records of the early days reflected the approval of train fares for traveling state officers. This, of course, was common to the day since railroads were the common mode of travel for long trips then. A.S. Wier recalled a particular visit to neighboring Waller Lodge during his tenure as Deputy for the Grand Lodge. During the course of the visit the late A.W. Umland of the Waller Lodge recollected records to the effect that, exactly 50 years prior, Mr. Wier's uncle from the Navasota Lodge had paid a similar state visit to the Waller group.

THE CURRENT LODGE BUILDING

The original section of the current Hempstead Masonic Lodge building on Main St. at 7th. St. was built on lot10 of block 216 purchased from Mr. Hanson and in the block of his residence at the price of $1,100.00.

The first section was a 66 foot by 38 foot building contained the Lodge Room, the ante room, the kitchen and the rest rooms.

The contract to build the building was signed July 28, 1956 and the new building was used for it's stated meeting in November of 1956. The cost of the original building was estimated to cost $22,000.00 (the final cost was $22,644.30). The Lodge had $14,000 and signed a note with the bank for $8,000.


 

The Cornerstone Laying Ceremony

PAST WORSHIPFUL MASTERS

1893 - E.A. Pace1894 - E.A. Pace 1895 - Sam Farquhar
1896 - W.W. Rankin 1897 - R.R. Davidson1898 - George W. Russell
1899 - John McGinn 1900 - R.E. Tompkins 1901 - L.L. Mahan
1902 - R.E. Tompkins 1903 - C.B. Doran1904 - C.B. Doran
1905 - John McGinn 1906 - R.E. Tompkins 1907 - R.E. Tompkins
1908 - C.S. Farquhar 1909 - L.L. Mahan 1910 - L.B. Sanders
1911 - C.A. Searey 1912 - C.A. Searey 1913 - W.B. Petty
1914 - C.A. Searey 1915 - R.C. Hill 1916 - R.C. Hill
1917 - J.P. Frederich 1918 - C.A. Searey 1919 - C.A. Searey
1920 - L.L. Mahan 1921 - L.A. Simonton 1922 - Charles Thomas
1923 - C.S. Thomas 1924 - L.L. Mahan 1925 - A.F. Foster
1926 - M.A. Jones1927 - Robert Smith 1928 - C.B. Gardner
1929 - R.E. Tompkins 1930 - R.E. Tompkins 1931 - R.E. Tompkins
1932 - R.E. Tompkins 1933 - R.E. Tompkins 1934 - A.F. Foster
1935 - A.F. Foster 1936 - C.B. Gardner 1937 - A.F. Foster
1938 - A.F. Foster 1939 - C.L. Wright 1940 - A.F. Foster
1941 - G.D. Gibson 1942 - Lewis Stuckey 1943 - F.R. Mills
1944 - R.J. Deere 1945 - C.B. Gardner 1946 - B.J. McEnroe
1947 - J.M. Jorden 1948 - F.M. Gardiner 1949 - A.F. Foster
1950 - C.C. Allen 1951 - M.D. Foster 1952 - W.B. Bell
1953 - W.K. Hoke 1954 - J.M. Moorman 1955 - C.H. Smith
1956 - J.D. Richardson 1957 - A.S. Wier 1958 - M.D. Foster
1959 - James C. Carr 1960 - Jody McCarty 1961 - Harry D. Schwarz
1962 - Harold Clark 1963 - R.R. Foster 1964 - James M. Hauck
1965 - Juel P. Law 1966 - C.C. Chamberland 1967 - Robert L. McWilliams
1968 - Shelby L. Losack 1969 - F.M. Gardiner 1970 - C.C. Allen
1971 - Ben Holton 1972 - Robert L. McWilliams 1973 - C.R. Paschall
1974 - Paul Hubble1975 - John Bishop1976 - Bill Avery
1977 - Robert W. Kluna 1978 - Freddie R. Zack 1979 - Wallace Klingman
1980 - Albert W. Sneed1981 - John Bishop 1982 -
1983 - D. Kirby Cowles1984 - Freddie R. Zack 1985 - Jimmy N. Zepeda Jr.
1986 - Jimmy N. Zepeda Jr. 1987 - James K. McWilliams 1988 - Robert L. McWilliams
1989 - Douglas "Doug" Holloman 1990 - Douglas “Doug” Holloman1991 - Oscar Lewis
1992 - Jimmy N. Zepeda Jr. 1993 - Robert L. McWilliams 1994 - Robert McWilliams
1995 - Bobby B. Boykin 1996 - Rupert Sheridan 1997 - Sidney Joe Hester
1998 - Douglas "Doug" Holloman1999 - William E. "Bill" Parham2000 - David W. Hartley
2001 - Ted Wren Jr. 2002 - Roy Shields 2003 - Kenneth Harvey
2004 - Kelly O. Cox



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