Norton Moses Lodge No. 336, A.F. & A.M.

Norton Moses, the lodge's namesake, was born in Georgia in 1823, came to Texas in 1846 and served as District Deputy Grand Master of District 32, according to a local history of Leander. Fourteen men petitioned the Grand Lodge in 1870 and the charter followed in 1871. After the move to Leander the Masons rented rooms until they built a hall in 1907. On December 14, 1983, an explosion at a neighboring building, caused by a gas leak, knocked that hall off its foundation, and it was torn down. The lodge now meets on Sonny Drive.

What the plaque says

Norton Moses Lodge No. 336, A.F. & A.M. Organized in the Williamson County community of Bagdad, this Masonic Lodge was chartered formally in 1871. It was named for Norton Moses, who participated in the group's formation. A lodge building, constructed in 1870, also served as a community meeting center and public school. In 1899 the Masons moved to the new railroad town of Leander, where they actively supported the public schools and other community activities. Through its leadership, the lodge has been instrumental in the development of western Williamson County. (1985)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Inner Space Cavern — 10 mi
  A Georgetown cave found in 1963 when highway engineers drilled test holes, holding Pleistocene fossils and 72-degree rooms that visitors reach by an artificial tunnel.
• The Round Rock — 10 mi
  A table-shaped stone in Brushy Creek gave Round Rock its name in 1854; the Chisholm Trail crossed the creek near it, and Old Town stayed behind when the railroad pulled the town east.
• Williamson County Courthouse — 11 mi
  The fifth Williamson County courthouse, a Beaux Arts building by C. H. Page, rises over a Georgetown square of more than 50 Victorian-era buildings.
• Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge: Doeskin Ranch — 14 mi
  A free federal refuge north of Lake Travis kept for two songbirds that need old juniper and oak, with trails at the Doeskin Ranch unit near Bertram.

More markers nearby

• Leander Schools — 0.4 mi
• Leander — 0.6 mi
• Leander United Methodist Church — 0.7 mi
• Leander Presbyterian Church — 0.7 mi