First Meeting Site of Huntsville's Masonic Lodge - Huntsville, TX
Posted by: 
jhuoni
N 30° 43.364 W 095° 33.017
15R E 255793 N 3401651
Although Sam Houston was a Free Mason, he was not part of the petitioners from Huntsville's Forest Lodge No. 19. Houston did not move to Huntsville until 1862. Forest Lodge is still active and their lodge was erected in 1908 and is located nearby.
Waymark Code: WMY0DQ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/27/2018
Views: 1
The first meeting site Huntsville's Masonic Lodge was the upper floor of a two-story brick general store on this corner. Alexander McDonald purchase several lots in this block from Pleasant Gray, the founder of Huntsville, in 1842 and 1843. The store building was completed in early 1844, and the McDonald home occupied two large lots behind the business.
Nine Master Masons living in the Huntsville area of what was Walker County submitted a petition, and on January 11, 1844, the Grand Lodge of Texas granted a charter for Forest Lodge No. 19 A. F. & A. M.
Alexander McDonald was the first Worshipful Master of the lodge. Other officers were Samuel G. Devereaux, Senior Warden, and William Robinson, Junior Warden. The remaining six petitioners were George E Hunter, H. B. Schofield, Samuel D. Hay, Horace Upshur, Edward Parkinson, and James Cole. Although McDonald sold the corner lot and building early in 1845, and the property changed hands several times in the next two years, it is thought the Masonic Lodge continued to meet in the upstairs
Marker placed by the Citizens of Huntsville
1998