Fredericksburg Lodge No. 794, A.F. & A.M.

Texas Masonry grew fast between the republic and the Civil War. From 1838 to 1845 the Grand Lodge chartered twenty-one more lodges and its membership rose from seventy-three to 357, with perhaps 1,100 Masons from other jurisdictions also living in Texas. After annexation, five of the six governors between 1846 and 1861 were Masons, and by 1860 the state had 226 active lodges and 9,000 members. During the war a third to a half of the members served in the military, and the Grand Lodge issued dispensations for thirty-two traveling lodges within army units.

What the plaque says

Fredericksburg Lodge No. 794, A.F. & A.M. traces its history to 1897 when a warrant of dispensation was granted by the Grand Lodge of Texas Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. The first worshipful master, D. C. Darroch, was installed by Neal Caldwell, deputy district grand master of the 47th Masonic District. Members joined from willow Creek, Kerrville, and Johnson City, and first met in the Schandua Building. In 1910 the Otto Kolmeier building located on East Main Street was acquired as the second home for the Lodge, and was shared with the Eastern Star organization. The Lodge moved to the Beckmann Building on West Main Street in 1925. Lodge meetings were held on the first floor, and the second floor housed Eastern Star meetings. The cornerstone for a new Lodge building was laid in 1963 at South Adams and Hale streets. Lodge members maintain a strong tradition of supporting education. An award named for Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar has been given annually, in addition to a scholarship. Many charitable causes have received assistance from the Masons, who continue to serve the community as they have for more than a century. (1997)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Vereins Kirche and Main Street — 0.8 mi
  The octagonal Society Church on Fredericksburg's market square, rebuilt in stone in the 1930s, beside a main street laid out like a Rhine village.
• National Museum of the Pacific War — 0.8 mi
  A museum of the war in the Pacific in Chester Nimitz's hometown, dedicated at his request to the two million who served with him, with a garden given by Japan.
• Fort Martin Scott — 2.2 mi
  An army post of 1848 on Barons Creek beside the German town, where soldiers kept the peace of a Comanche trade and paid the merchants in hard cash.
• Luckenbach — 9.3 mi
  A store, saloon and dance hall on Grape Creek that a humorist bought in 1971, declared a free state of mind, and turned into a pilgrimage for Texas music.

More markers nearby

• Wunderlich Houses — 0.6 mi
• Birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN — 0.7 mi
• Old Central Drugstore — 0.8 mi
• Gillespie County — 0.8 mi