Masonic Building - Fayette County Courthouse Square Historic District - La Grange, TX - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

Henry Rhode constructed the Masonic Building in 1860 with Florian Meyer serving as contractor. Constructed of limestone blocks covered with stucco, it rises three stories and is crowned with a projecting stone cornice. Stone stringcourses delineate the floors that comprise the cubical mass of the building. The facade is simply composed of four bays with two doorways on the ground floor. Windows are 4/4 with stone sills and lintels on the first and second floors and casement windows on the third or attic story. Access to the upper floors was by an exterior staircase. In 1940, this stair was removed and replaced by an interior stairway. An exterior fire escape has since been added. Originally heated by a fireplace that is no longer functional, the exterior of the building retains a high degree of integrity. The building received the Recorded Texas Historic Landmark designation in 1962.

After the death of Rhode in 1862, the La Fayette Lodge No. 34, A.F.&A.M. and the I.O.O.F. Lodge No. 30 purchased the building in 1866. The Masonic Lodge occupied the third floor from July 24,1866 to May of 1939. In 1871 the Lodge sold the property to J. M. Farquahar but continued to occupy the third floor. Upon the death of J. M. Farquahar in 1879, his two daughters, Mrs. T.S. Brown and Mrs. Robert McKinney held an undivided interest in the property. Mrs. McKinney's husband, Dr. McKinney, served as the Worshipful Master of the Lodge. Upon the death of Mrs. McKinney in 1920, her half-interest was conveyed to her sister, Mrs. T.S. Brown. In 1939 the property was sold to William and August Hermes.

Among the occupants of the building over the years were Joseph Brown, attorney (founder of the J.C. Brown Abstract Company, later known as the Fayette County Abstract Company), the National Farm and Loan Association, the Brenham Production Credit Association, and the Soil Conservation Service. Fayette County Abstract Co. occupied the building from 1940 through 1973.