On March 10, 1835, John A. Wharton, Asa Brigham, James A. E. Phelps, Alexander Russell, Anson Jones and J. P. Caldwell met in a secluded grove near Brazoria and petitioned the Grand Lodge of Louisiana for a dispensation to form a new Lodge to be called Holland Lodge. From this meeting started a chain of events that would form the foundations of Texas Masonry and Texas History. Our first Master of Holland Lodge, Anson Jones, went on to serve as both the First Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas and the last President of the Republic of Texas before the annexation at the end of 1845.
The spirit of our founding brothers has continued to this day, our lodge is still dedicated to those virtues that they held dear to the hearts. The aim of our membership is to provide a place where men of the modern world can still benefit from classic principles and programs.
We seek to promote the “brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God”. We our all bound on this earth by our divine creator, to aid, support and protect each other. That is not to say that Masonry is a religion, though our membership is made of spiritual men. We accept men from all faiths so long as the profess a belief in deity and believe in the immortality of the soul. We also seek to promote our values of “Faith, Hope and Charity”, not to say that Masonry is a charity, though our membership is made of charitable men.
Masonry uses these principles for our ritual and our allegory to provide a foundation for our brothers to learn, grow, and become pillars at their homes, their work and in their communities. With the foundation set, our lodge continues to push our members by hosting studying sessions to enrich our minds in Masonic history and esoterism, by encouraging them to take an active part in serving on the various committees and offices of the lodge, by hosting fraternal events to strengthen our bonds of fellowship and friendship and doing our part to support our various charities to enrich the soul.
If these ideals seem to speak to you, and you have a desire to join a group of men that are active in bettering themselves, each other and our lodge, then our doors are open. The first step is coming to introduce yourself, breaking bread with us as we eat dinner, and getting to know the members. In our organization the key to success is to be always searching out knowledge and asking questions. Our only question is, what are you waiting for?
Sincerely,
Kevin P. Clingan
Worshipful Master
Holland Lodge #1 A.F.& A.M.