October 24, 2024 - One of the first things Jesse Maynard shared about Timpson's Masonic Lodge #437 at the October meeting of the Timpson Area Genealogical and Heritage Society was that it was established in 1874, 11 years before Timpson was! A Mason for 32 years and Past Master at St. John's Lodge #51 and Timpson Lodge #437, Mr. Maynard currently serves as the Secretary of the Timpson Lodge. Mr. Maynard explained how the founding the Timpson Lodge came about.
“Timpson Lodge #437 was chartered in June of 1874 in the extreme southeastern part of Rusk County as the Golden Drain Lodge. After a few years the Lodge was moved to a few miles to Caledonia, where it remained until 1877,” Maynard explained. “All the records of Lodge #437 were destroyed in a fire in 1908 and the exact details of the move are unknown. Records of the Grand Lodge of Texas reveal that the original members of the Lodge were Richard Avery, A. R. Dillon, T. S. Garrison, B. L. Jopling, Elijah Phillips, James L. Smith, and P.M.C. Winder, with a total of 13 members by the end of the first year. S.R. Patton of #437 was the first man to receive three degrees from the Golden Drain Lodge. In 1883 a total of 39 member was reported”.
Timpson was established by the railroad in 1885 and soon was a booming little town. “By the end of 1888, most of the members of the Golden Drain Lodge had moved to Timpson,” Maynard continued. “In December of 1888, the records of the Grand Lodge of Texas passed a resolution recognizing the fact that the Golden Drain Lodge had moved to Timpson without permission from the Grand Lodge of Texas and an investigation was ordered. Following the presentation of the report in 1889, permission was granted for Lodge #437 to move to Timpson, however the Timpson Lodge was censured for having made the move without the prior permission of the Grand Lodge of Texas.”
The Lodge continued to operate under the Golden Drain name until 1896, when it was changed to the Timpson Lodge. Over the years, the Timpson Lodge maintained a membership of 45 to 50 Master Masons. Some members transferred to newly created Lodges in Tenaha and Joaquin, as well as to the restored Newburn Lodge, #98,” Maynard said.
The meeting was attended by a number of local Masons, and they and Maynard fielded a large number of questions from the audience regarding Masonry.
The Timpson Area Genealogical Society meets at 2pm on the third Wednesday of each month in the meeting room of the Timpson Public Library on the corner of Austin and Bremond Streets in downtown Timpson. The public is invited. The TAGHS library is located within the Timpson Public Library and is open and staffed from 9am until 5pm weekdays. Telephone 936-254-2966 and ask for the Genealogical Library.
