Tyre Masonic Lodge No. 198

Tyre Masonic Lodge No. 198 Until this Masonic Lodge was chartered in 1857, local Masons traveled to Magnolia Lodge No. 113 near the Trinity River. On March 3, 1856, seven Tennessee Colony Masons met at the store of James S. Hanks and adopted a resolution to petition the Grand Lodge of Texas for a new lodge. The Grand Lodge approved the request on January 19, 1857, and Tyre Lodge no. 198, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, was officially chartered four days later. A.L. Porter served as the first worshipful master. Other officers the first year were John Nelson Woolverton, Dr. W. C. Kenney, John Vannoy, John M. Burns, Thomas Hudson, Joshua Brown Hanks, J. R. Fulton, C. D. Holliman and M. A. Anderson. Members met in a log building, but soon bought a house for lodge purposes. In 1861, a two-story building was constructed and put into use as a community school, a place for Sunday worship and a meeting place for the Masons. A 1949 building replaced the 19th-century structure as the hall. Throughout its history, the members of Tyre Masonic Lodge have sponsored a number of programs and outreach projects for the community, including the Tennessee Colony Masonic Institute, which provided school classes for local children in the late 1850s. Lodge members have served in various armed conflicts, including the Civil War, World War I and World War II. The organization draws members from surrounding communities as it continues to uphold the ideals and traditions of its founders. (2002)

Tyre Masonic Lodge No. 198 is a historical marker in Tennessee Colony, Anderson County, dedicated in 2002. It is one of 115 historical markers documented in Anderson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 229 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.8348, -95.8394 near Tennessee Colony. The nearest cataloged historic site is Tennessee Colony Order of the Eastern Star No. 102 (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Tennessee Colony, Tennessee Colony Cemetery, and Jemison Quarters Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5001012815. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.