Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, A.F. & A.M.

The 1906 lodge hall carries its dates in stone. A transcription of the cornerstone reads Knob Creek Lodge A.F. and A.M. No. 401, Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Texas, July 4, 1906, and gives the year again as A.L. 5906. A.L. is Anno Lucis, the Masonic reckoning that adds four thousand years to the common calendar. The stone also records the charter date, June 4, 1875, or A.L. 5875. A waymarking entry describes the building as Classical Revival brick, with a stucco face added to its first story in a 2017 remodel.

What the plaque says

Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, A.F. & A.M. Since June 4, 1875, the Knob Creek Lodge No. 401 Ancient Free & Accepted Masons has met continuously in Bell County and remained true to its ideals of fraternity, charitable works and public service. Masonic District 11 Deputy Grand Master Archibald Johnson Rose of Salado assisted in the establishment of Little River Lodge No. 401, the predecessor to Knob Creek Lodge, at Little River Academy, an agricultural community eight miles south of the Temple area. In December 1876, the Brethren began meeting in the gin owned by Early Greathouse, Sr., son of charter member John Greathouse. Following the progress of freemasonry statewide, Little River Lodge remained committed to education. In 1879, they arranged to build a second story to the Pleasant Valley Schoolhouse and used the space as a new meeting place. At the same time, the lodge changed its name to Knob Creek Lodge No. 401, the name of the creek running near the school. As the lodge membership rose and the area began to grow, the Knob Creek Lodge moved to Temple in 1885, where it occupied the second story of the Hurley building. Following a fire in their third building, the brethren built a lodge hall that opened in 1906 at 16 East Central Ave. Where they continue to meet after more than 100 years. By 1960, the lodge had grown to more than 700 members from all strata of Bell County residents and accrued a legacy of public service. Over the years, lodge members supported churches, businesses, education, government and social programs in Bell County. Throughout its history, Knob Creek Lodge No. 401 has provided Temple and Bell County and beyond with civic leadership. (2013)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Temple Railroad and Heritage Museum — 0.3 mi
  The Santa Fe depot of 1911 in a railroad town that began in 1880 as a construction camp, now a museum with locomotives and cars parked beside the active rail yard.
• Mother Neff State Park — 18 mi
  A Leon River park that grew from six acres Isabella Neff left the state in her 1921 will, where Civilian Conservation Corps Company 817 built a stone tower, a pavilion and roads in the 1930s.
• Milam County Courthouse and Jail — 28 mi
  Cameron's 1892 Renaissance Revival courthouse and the 1895 St. Louis-built jail beside it, now the county museum, are listed together on the National Register.

More markers nearby

• City of Temple — steps away
• Temple College — steps away
• Site of the Organization of the Texas Forestry Association — steps away
• 42nd Reunion of Hood's Texas Brigade — steps away