Freemasonry is a fraternity. Its membership is restricted to men, but there is no hazing as is found in some college fraternities. The Masonic Order is a serious group. It exists to take good men and help them to become better men. Thus, it is not a reform society. It does not exist to reform criminals, nor would such persons benefit from its teachings. Masonry developed from lodges of operative o
r stone masons. The Masonry of today is distinguished from the stone masonry of old by being referred to as "Speculative" Masonry. Speculative or FREEmasonry does not work with stone but instead works on the lives of men. Its teachings take the imagery of carpentry and architecture and use that imagery to teach by symbols about building a good character. Symbolic, Craft, or Blue Lodge Masonry has three degrees. The three degrees are, in order: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason. In 1717, four of these lodges in England met and formed the first Grand Lodge. A Grand Lodge is a Masonic body having jurisdiction over the lodges within a certain geographical area. Each state has its own Grand Lodge. Also the District of Columbia has its own Grand Lodge. In March 1835 the first Masonic meeting was held in Texas for the purpose of establishing a lodge in Texas. Six Masons met under an oak tree near the town of Brazoria. They applied to the Grand Lodge of Louisiana for a dispensation to form and open a Lodge. A dispensation was issued and later a charter. This first Texas lodge was called Holland Lodge No. 36. It was named after then Grand Master of Masons in Louisiana, John Henry Holland. Anson Jones was the first Worshipful Master of Holland Lodge No. 36, now Holland Lodge No. 1. The charter was brought by John M. Allen and given to Anson Jones just prior to the battle of San Jacinto. Two more Texas lodges were formed, also given dispensation and charter by the Grand Lodge of Louisiana. They were: Milam Lodge No. 40 in Nacogdoches, and McFarland Lodge No. 41 in San Augustine. Both were formed in 1837. These two lodges, together with Holland Lodge No. 36, sent representatives to meet in Houston and established the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas. The convention elected Anson Jones the first Grand Master of Masons in Texas. It should be noted that Anson Jones was the fourth and final President of the Republic of Texas, prior to becoming a state. Today there are over 122,000 Masons in Texas with a total of 914 lodges. We look forward optimistically to the future of Masonry in Texas and trust that its proud heritage will be built upon in the years to come in ways that will continue to serve and honor the great State of Texas.