PARSONS LODGE #222

Silas Parsons was born March 9, 1799 in Kentucky. By about 1819 he was living on a farm in Jackson County, Alabama. In 1822 he was elected sheriff and served in that capacity for three years while he studied law and became admitted to the bar. He practiced law in Bellefonte, Alabama until 1831 when he moved to Huntsville where he continued his law practice. In 1849 he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Alabama Supreme Court. He resigned this position in June, 1851 and on November 3, 1852 he purchased 1534 acres of land in the Greenbury Gates survey in Travis County, Texas from John A. Cunningham. The purchase price was $1 per acre. Soon thereafter, he moved to Texas.

In order for Freemasonry members who lived in that part of Travis County to attend a Masonic Lodge, they had to travel either to Webberville or to Austin.

In 1857 efforts were begun to establish a Masonic Lodge in the Wilbarger's Creek area. A new building was constructed on land given by Isaac Wildbahn with funds given primarily by Silas Parsons. A petition was sent to the Grand Lodge of Texas in September, 1857 saying;

“...that they have erected a building 36x22 feet, all neatly sealed and painted white with venetian blinds to the windows and all the furniture necessary for working, completed at the cost of $3,000. And for other good reasons, they are desirous of forming a new lodge in the county of Travis on Wilbarger Creek thirteen miles east of Austin and about nine miles north of Webberville, to be called Parson’s Lodge.“

Parsons Seminary downstairs - Masonic Lodge upstairs

Permission to establish the Lodge was granted and the ground floor of the building housed the Parsons Seminary, a school for the daughters of area residents, while the upper floor served as Parsons' Masonic Lodge #222.

Two years later, membership had increased from 14 to 25. When the Houston and Texas Central Railway Company built its railroad through the area, the town of Manor was established in early 1872. By 1875 membership had increased to 52. In the late 1800’s, as population in the area began to decline somewhat, so did Lodge membership.

Manor Fire Company No. 1 was chartered by the State of Texas on February 18, 1892. the charter was to run for a period of 50 years. 

Biennial Report of the Secretary of State of the State of Texas, 1892 - Page 21

A property deed dated November 16, 1892 states that J.W. Bitting, acting on behalf of Manor Fire Company No. 1, sold to J.W. Davis, J.M. Richmond and H.C. Fristoe, acting as Trustees of Parsons Lodge 222, lot 6, block 43 in Manor for the price of $100. The deed specifically states that the sale was made “for the uses following and none other; that is to say for the separate and sole use of Parsons Lodge 222, A.F. & A.M. located at Manor, Texas.”

TRAVIS COUNTY DEED RECORD 113, PAGE 519

In return for a payment of $400 from Manor Fire Company No. 1, the trustees of Parsons Lodge agreed to erect a shared-use building on lot 6, block 43.

Travis County deed records dated March 27, 1894 indicate that a two-story building 35 feet wide and 70 feet long was erected on lot 6, block 43 by the Masonic Lodge. By way of a previous agreement dated April 1, 1893, the lower floor of the building was rented to the Manor Fire Company No. 1 for $5 and was known as Fireman's Hall. The lease was to run for 20 years. Parsons Lodge 222 would meet on the upper floor of the building. 

AGREEMENT BETWEEN PARSONS LODGE AND MANOR FIRE COMPANY.
TRAVIS COUNTY DEED RECORD 120, PAGES 418-420

On February 21, 1905 a meeting was held in Fireman's Hall to discuss building a new school that would replace the old Parsons Seminary.

THE BASTROP ADVERTISER NEWSPAPER, MARCH 4, 1905

In July, 1906 an election was held at which time Manor area residents voted to establish a new Manor Independent School District. In early April, 1907 bids were received for the construction of a new, $13,000 school building for Manor’s students.

According to a published history, in that same year the Lodge “lost their warrant due to internal dissension” and on April 27, 1907 the Trustees of Parson’s Seminary donated their land,  including the Seminary / Lodge building to the Trustees of the Manor Independent School District. Travis County Deed Records book 216, pages 350-355 recorded the transaction.

The remaining property of the Lodge, including lot 6, block 43, reverted to the control of the Grand Lodge of Texas. Three men, T.M. Rector, John W. Brown and M.T. Holton still held liens against the Lodge property in Manor totaling a little over $900. A document dated May 10, 1909 details how an agreement was made between the lien holders and the Grand Lodge in which the notes held by the lien holders would be cancelled and in return for $1 paid, ownership of lot 6, block 43 would be quit-claimed to J.M. Harris. 

TRAVIS COUNTY DEED RECORD 236, PAGE 656

A deed record dated March 21, 1910 states that in return for a payment of $1,050,  J.M. Harris sold lot 6, block 43 including the Lodge / Fireman's Hall building to John A. Hill, W.E. Ware, Vernon Crockett and W.H. Wentland. The deed specifically stipulated that the 20 year lease to Manor Fire Company No. 1 was to remain in effect. 

TRAVIS COUNTY DEED RECORD 236, PAGE 655

In December, 1910, a new Masonic Lodge was chartered as Manor Lodge 1034 which included a majority of the Parsons Lodge members. An article in the December 26, 1910 issue of The Austin Statesman newspaper announced the formation of a new lodge in Manor. It said;

“At the opening of the grand lodge of the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons at Waco this month, a charter was granted pursuant to establishing a new lodge at Manor. The district deputy grand master, Judge J. H. Ireland, will set the new lodge to work Tuesday night, December 27, at which time a banquet will be given and it is expected that a large number of members from all the neighboring lodges will be present, for they are invited.”

A follow up article dated December 28 gave the details of the inaugural meeting of the new Manor Lodge 1034. It said, in part; 

“An A. F. and A. M. lodge, with a membership of twenty, was organized here last night, District Deputy Grand Master J. H. Ireland officiating….Just before the beginning of the work, the guests were invited into the dining hall, where a sumptuous lunch was served...”

The article went on to list the names of the officers of the new lodge. 

 

On October 1, 1912 the owners of the lodge granted the Tuesday Book Club a twenty-five year lease on the south end of the lot next to the Fireman's Hall building with the privilege of extending the lease for another twenty-five years if the Club was continuously maintained. A newspaper article printed in March, 1914 states that a new club house had just been opened. 

A hand-drawn map from 1924 shows the Masonic Lodge and Tuesday Book Club in that location. 

PART OF 1924 MAP SHOWING LODGE AND BOOK CLUB ON FAR LEFT

On July 7, 1919, W.H. Wentland, John A. Hill, W.E. Ware and Vernon Crockett sold lot 6, block 43, including the building, to Manor Lodge 1034. The sale price was $1,050, the same as they had paid for it 9 years earlier. 

TRAVIS COUNTY DEED RECORD 321, PAGE 270

They petitioned to have the original name restored in 1925 but it was not until 2007 that the Grand Lodge of Texas exchanged the Charter of Manor Lodge 1034 for a Charter of Parsons Lodge 222, which was effectively backdated to December 12, 1910.

In 1926 it came to the attention of the members of Parsons Lodge 222 that the lease to the Tuesday Book Club had been overlooked when the four owners of the lot and building had signed their sales agreement with Manor Lodge 1034. To correct that oversight and to make sure that future members were aware of the lease, a document was drawn up acknowledging the mistake and confirming that the lease was still in effect. A framed copy of that document exists in the archives at Manor City Hall. 

FRAMED DOCUMENT CONFIRMING LEASE TO TUESDAY BOOK CLUB

By 1927, membership had increased to 75 but then began a gradual decline. By the time that World War 2 ended, a majority of the members lived in Austin, prompting them to submit a petition allowing the Lodge to be moved from Manor to Austin.

In June 1947, the building where they met in Manor was advertised for sale in the classified ads section of an Austin newspaper in the "building materials" category - apparently to be torn down. Aerial photographs from 1952 show a vacant lot where the building had been. 

THE AUSTIN STATESMAN, JUNE 20, 1947

Initially meeting in the Scottish Rite Temple after the move to Austin, membership increase to a high of 233 in 1966. The Lodge changed its location to the York Rite Temple in 1981, where it currently resides.