The following is used with permission of Borderlands , a student writing and research project at El Paso Community College, El Paso , TX 79998 , Ruth E. Vise, Project Director and Faculty Editor. All rights reserved.

The complete Borderlands article on Freemasonry can be found here.

Masons Became Leaders in Texas, El Paso
By Rita Arroyo and Beth Tucker

Freemasonry made its debut in Texas, on February 11, 1828, at San Felipe on the Brazos River. Present at this meeting was Stephen F. Austin, the "Father of Texas." A petition to establish a lodge in Texas was made to the Grand York Lodge of Mexico, then politically divided. The Scottish Lodges were comprised of members of the aristocracy who favored Spanish rule, while the York Masons opposed it. Because civil war broke out in Mexico, the application by Austin and others was ignored.

The Grand Master of Louisiana approved the first Texas lodge in Texas in 1835 in Brazoria, Texas. The story exists that during Texas' fight for independence from Mexico, General Sam Houston, a Mason, spared Mexican General Santa Ana's life after recognizing him as a brother Mason.

Master Masons held a convention in Houston in 1837 and began the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas. When the United States annexed Texas in 1845, the name reverted to the Grand Lodge of Texas. During the U.S.-Mexican War, Colonel Doniphan, commander of the Missouri volunteers, captured the El Paso-Juarez area. Doniphan's troops had a Masonic charter for a lodge that was probably lost or destroyed during ensuing battles.

On January 21, 1854, Lodge 130 was founded in San Elizario, the county seat at that time. This was one of the first lodges to appear on the Western frontier, 600 miles from the closest one in San Antonio.

El Paso Lodge meetings were suspended between 1859 and 1866 during the Civil War. Lodge 130 resumed work in July 1866, and a formal meeting was held at the Grand Central Hotel. During the following years, El Paso Lodge 130 rented different places in which to hold its meetings until they could erect a one-story adobe building at San Antonio and Mesa Streets.

The history of the El Paso Lodge is intertwined with the history of the city. In 1870, judges and Masons Gaylord Judd Clarke and A.J. Fountain founded St. Clement's Episcopal Mission, the first Protestant church in the county.

El Paso Masons first met at Judge Simeon Hart's residence, or Hart's Mill. Journalist Ken Flynn says Hart's flour mill was probably "the first real industry on the America side of the river." Parts of Hart's mill and residence are preserved as historical landmarks and are now home to La Hacienda Restaurant. Hart was also one of the founders of the El Paso Times.

For several years, Masons owned the Ralston Hospital at Five Points until they decided to support the new Providence Memorial Hospital. Later they built the Masonic Hospital, in service until the mid 1940s.

Members of the Lodge also contributed to the economy of El Paso. Benjamin Dowell set up a combination grocery store, saloon and billiards hall, and his business also became the city's first official post office. Joseph Magoffin, who, like Dowell, was mayor of El Paso, served as Collector of Customs. His home is now a state park. Masons Maury C. Edwards and O.T. Bassett were associated with the lumber business for years.

Masons helped establish the public education system in El Paso. In 1870, M.A. Jones, a Mason and lawyer, set up a day school in his law office where he taught American and Mexican children to read and write. In 1882, the school board was formally organized, with Edward C. Pew, Joseph Magoffin and Samuel Freudenthal, all Masons, serving as members. In the 1800s, Masons as a group lobbied for the establishment of state supported education and federal land grant colleges.

While most Masons are members of the three aforementioned levels, others advance through about 100 other rites composed of 1,000 higher degrees worldwide. The two most popular rites in the United States are the Scottish that awards 33 degrees and the York that awards 10, including the Order of Knights Templar, similar to the highest degree Scottish Rite Mason. Many African-Americans belong to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge.

Other orders include the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (the fraternal fun order for Blue Lodge Masons) and the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. The latter are thirty-second degree Masons called Shriners, noted for burn institutes and hospitals for crippled children. Two such charities are the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children in Dallas and the Shriners Burns Institute in Galveston.

Shriners also are identifiable by antics in their tiny cars during community parades and their sponsorship of the Shrine Circus. The circus raises money for the hospitals, and free seats are given to local needy children.

Charity is at the heart of Masonic teachings of growth and development of individuals. Compassion, honor and integrity unite Masons in a brotherhood also known for its emphasis on fellowship. Masonic organizations for women include the Order of Eastern Star and Amaranth. Girls may join Rainbow, Job's Daughters, Triangle or Constellation and boys enter DeMolay.

Like other fraternal societies, the Masons use symbols and rituals. The most widely known symbol is the Square and Compasses, with the former representing things of the earth as well as honor, integrity and truthfulness, and the latter symbolizing things of the spirit, including the importance of self-control. The G in the middle of the symbol stands for geometry, the science which the ancients believed most revealed the glory of God and His works.

Over the centuries, the Masons have encountered much opposition. Masons have never been permitted in some Catholic countries such as Spain, and the Church still discourages its members from joining the order. The Masons do not bar Catholics, however, and many lodges are active in Latin America. In the United States, short-lived opposition came in the form of the political anti-Masonic party established in 1828 that nominated William Wirt to run for president against Andrew Jackson. Jackson won handily over Wirt, ironically himself a Mason. The party lasted only until 1834.

Masons have done much to influence the nation, the state of Texas and El Paso. Although most fraternal organizations have lost membership in the past few decades, Grand Lodges across the country are working to make the organization more appealing to prospective members.

Thank you to Ruth Vise and the Borderlands project for allowing us to reprint portions of this article.

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