Our History

For nearly a century, the story of Unity Lodge #1242 has been a story of Masonic fellowship, service, and commitment to the communities of Hutchinson County and the Texas Panhandle.

The lodge that exists today traces its primary lineage to Isom Lodge #1242, chartered in Isom (Now Borger), Texas, in 1926. While Unity Lodge has welcomed brethren and shared its home with other Masonic bodies over the years, this history focuses on the continuous history of the lodge that began as Isom Lodge #1242.

The Beginning — 1926

In 1926, a group of Masons in the newly developing Texas Panhandle petitioned the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Texas for a charter. Among those listed as requesting the charter were Harold A. Armor, H. T. Martin, C. E. Byron, Taylor Mayfield, George Crossman, Dan Patterson, John Robert Reynolds, John F. Weatherly, Lawrence J. Hamilton, W. D. Witt, and others.

On December 2, 1926, a charter was granted to Isom Lodge #1242 in Borger, Texas. The charter was signed by Most Worshipful Grand Master M. A. Childers.

The first surviving lodge minutes begin on April 4, 1927. On that day, Right Worshipful W. W. Daugherty, District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas, installed Worshipful Master W. D. Witt and the officers of Isom Lodge #1242 for the remainder of the Masonic year. The lodge initially met in a building provided by Sutherland Lumber Company.

Just five days later, on April 9, 1927, Isom Lodge conferred its first recorded degree following its charter—the Entered Apprentice Degree upon J. L. Nichols.

Building a Home in Borger

The early brethren quickly established a permanent home for the lodge.

In 1927, Isom Lodge moved into its new lodge hall at 210 W. Grand Street. The lodge room occupied the second floor, while the ground floor was rented to Cordell Furniture. The building was dedicated at a meeting on July 2, 1927, with Brother Berry Cobb of El Paso serving as the featured speaker.

The building cost $26,208, a considerable undertaking for a young lodge. Of that amount, $18,500 was borrowed from Brothers John Weatherly, Bob Smith, and W. A. Henderson, while the remaining $7,508 was paid from lodge funds.

The lodge worked for years to retire that debt. In 1941, after years of payments and contributions, the brethren voted to pay the remaining indebtedness and celebrated the lodge’s fifteenth year and the final payment on the building mortgage.

A Growing Lodge

The early years of Isom Lodge were marked by tremendous growth.

The lodge conferred hundreds of degrees during its first decades. In 1935, Isom Lodge reached an important milestone when it conferred the 1,000th degree in the lodge’s history.

Eleven years later, in 1946, the lodge reached its 2,000th degree.

The lodge also became an important gathering place for Masons throughout the region. Past Masters Nights, special degree conferrals, celebrations, and visits from Grand Lodge officers regularly brought together Masons from across Texas and other jurisdictions.

One Past Masters Night in 1938 drew approximately 200 members and visitors representing eight Grand Jurisdictions and 36 lodges.

In 1941, another Past Masters Night brought together 158 Masons and guests representing 42 lodges and 10 Grand Jurisdictions.

Service Beyond the Lodge Room

From its earliest years, Isom Lodge demonstrated that Masonry was about more than meetings and degrees.

The lodge supported families in need, contributed to charitable causes, supported the war effort during World War II, and made its building available during times of national emergency.

During World War II, the brethren purchased War Bonds, contributed to the War Relief Fund, and voted to waive dues for members serving in the Armed Forces for the duration of the war.

The lodge also opened its doors to youth organizations and other Masonic bodies. Over the years, the lodge hall served as a meeting place for organizations including the Order of the Eastern Star, Rainbow Assembly, DeMolay, and York Rite bodies.

That tradition of community service continues today.

Recognizing Service

Throughout its history, Unity Lodge has recognized brethren who have demonstrated exceptional service to Masonry and to their communities.

The lodge has presented numerous Golden Trowel Awards, an honor established by the Grand Lodge of Texas to recognize a living member who has demonstrated outstanding and exemplary service to his lodge through Masonic and/or community service.

The lodge has also honored outstanding non-Masons through the Community Builder Award, established in 1992 to recognize individuals whose service has benefited their community, government, church, or humanity.

A Tradition of Leadership

The influence of Isom and Unity Lodge has extended beyond its own lodge room.

Over the decades, many members have been elected or appointed to offices within the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Texas, including District Deputy Grand Masters and Grand Lodge officers. The lodge’s history records Grand Lodge service beginning in the 1930s and continuing through the present era.

Among those who served in Grand Lodge positions were W. A. Henderson, J. D. Hedgecoke, J. W. Richmond, J. G. Davlin, Fred J. Chastain, Jack W. Burke, W. Loye Williams, Allen E. Faylor, Hugh Anderson, Glenn Cogdill, Robert M. Adams, Kenneth O. Lanham, Kevin C. Flanagin, Terry W. Moon, William C. Brewer, and Nathan Allison, among many others.

From Isom to Unity

By the beginning of the 21st century, the lodge was entering another important chapter.

In 2007, the brethren began discussing a new identity for Isom Lodge #1242. After considering the name Hutchinson County Lodge, the brethren ultimately voted to adopt the name Unity Lodge #1242. The name change was approved by the Grand Lodge of Texas at its December 2007 Communication.

The name Unity reflected a new chapter while preserving the lodge’s original charter and identity as Lodge #1242.

In December 2007, Unity Lodge #1242 voted to allow Adobe Walls Lodge #1355 to merge with it. The Grand Lodge of Texas subsequently approved the merger in February 2008, and a new Charter for Unity Lodge #1242 was presented on February 23, 2008.

This was an important moment in the lodge’s history. However, the history of Adobe Walls Lodge #1355 remains its own story; its brethren and traditions became part of the continuing life of Unity Lodge, but the lineage of the #1242 charter remains rooted in Isom Lodge.

Continuing the Tradition

The decades since the transition to Unity have continued the lodge’s longstanding emphasis on fellowship, charity, education, and service.

Unity Lodge has continued supporting local families and charitable organizations, participating in community events, hosting blood drives, supporting youth programs, and providing scholarships to area students.

The lodge’s scholarship tradition itself dates back to an endowment established in 1993 by Adobe Walls #1355. Following the 2008 merger, Unity continued the scholarship program.

In 2024, Unity Lodge responded to the devastating Hutchinson County wildfires by supporting the Fritch and Stinnett Volunteer Fire Departments, ultimately presenting $2,500 to the departments for their efforts.

In 2025, the lodge began preparations for its 100th anniversary, including the creation of commemorative coins.

A Century of Masonry

From a small group of Masons seeking a charter in 1926, to a lodge that has served generations of men and families across the Texas Panhandle, the story of Unity Lodge #1242 is one of perseverance and service.

The name has changed.

The faces have changed.

Generations have come and gone.

But the commitment to the principles of Freemasonry has remained.

From Isom Lodge #1242 to Unity Lodge #1242, we continue the work begun nearly a century ago—building better men, serving our communities, and leaving the Craft stronger for those who come after us.

Adobe Walls Lodge #1355 was established during a period of tremendous growth in Borger and Hutchinson County.

Its story is distinct from that of Isom Lodge. Although Isom members played an important role in helping the new Lodge get started, Adobe Walls quickly developed its own identity, membership, building, traditions, charitable programs, and Masonic accomplishments.

The Birth of Adobe Walls

Adobe Walls Lodge #1355 received its charter dated December 8, 1955. The charter was signed by Most Worshipful W. W. Boothe, Grand Master of Texas, and Adobe Walls began with 184 charter members.

The Lodge initially met in the lodge room of Isom Lodge #1242 at 210 W. Grand. On March 23, 1956, Adobe Walls moved to its own meeting place on the third floor of the Miller Building at 500 N. Main.

The young Lodge quickly became part of the growing Masonic community. In 1956, Adobe Walls gave the newly forming Fritch Lodge permission to use its lodge room, while also allowing a group intending to establish an Eastern Star chapter to use the room. A building committee was appointed to begin planning and collecting donations for a permanent Lodge building.

A Lodge at Its Height

Adobe Walls experienced remarkable growth.

Its membership rose from 184 charter members in 1955 to nearly 400 members during the mid-1970s. Over the course of its history, Adobe Walls brethren conferred more than 980 degrees.

The Lodge’s history reflects more than numbers. Its brethren regularly assisted members and widows in distress, providing loans, labor, and financial assistance when needed. As the Lodge’s own historian observed, brethren built fences, painted houses, and did whatever was necessary to help those in need.

A Home of Its Own

Adobe Walls eventually established its own Lodge building, dedicated in 1964. The building became the center of Adobe Walls’ Masonic activity for decades.

The Lodge continued to work closely with the other Masonic organizations in the area. Joint installations, Past Masters programs, recognition dinners, widow’s events, and other activities regularly brought the area’s Masons together.

In 1996, the York Rite bodies moved their charters to Adobe Walls. Remodeling followed, including improvements to the Lodge room and the creation of additional storage space for Masonic records, degree equipment, and regalia.

Service to the Community

Adobe Walls placed considerable emphasis on education and community service.

The Lodge established scholarship programs and presented its first $300 scholarship in 1995.

Its charitable efforts included support for the Tralee Crisis Center, community recognition through the Community Builder Award, Golden Trowel recognitions, and assistance to Masonic charities.

Adobe Walls also participated in joint activities with Isom Lodge #1242 and Billy Dixon Lodge #1369, including dinners honoring Masonic widows and recognition ceremonies for longtime members. One 1996 widow’s dinner brought together 110 Masons and guests, including 21 widows.

The Final Years

By the beginning of the 21st century, the Lodge faced many of the same challenges affecting Masonic Lodges across the country.

In 2007, Adobe Walls had approximately 182–186 members, while Isom had approximately 147. Many officers were dual members, and the two Lodges were already occupying the same building. The Adobe Walls membership ultimately determined that the best interests of Masonry in Borger would be served by consolidation.

The merger process took place throughout the fall of 2007. The declaration was read at three consecutive meetings, and on October 23, 2007, the members present voted unanimously to merge with Isom Lodge #1242.

Adobe Walls continued meeting during the transition, including holding its first stated meeting in more than 50 years in the Isom Lodge room on July 24, 2007.

On January 21, 2008, Adobe Walls Lodge #1355 merged with Unity Lodge #1242, bringing its independent existence to a close.

Its history, however, remains.

The men who built Adobe Walls, the degrees they conferred, the families they helped, the young people they supported, and the service they gave their community became part of the larger Masonic heritage carried forward by those who came after them.

Plemons Lodge #877 represents one of the earliest and most distinguished chapters in the Masonic history of Hutchinson County.

Its story began in 1903, when ten unaffiliated Masons came together to establish a Masonic Lodge in the small community of Plemons, Texas. On August 26, 1903, Plemons Lodge U.D. was set to work by Right Worshipful George F. Morgan, District Deputy Grand Master of Masonic District #39, at the request of those ten brethren.

Those original brethren were John C. Chisum, R. Byrum, John Dodson, Frances M. Drum, Samuel Edge, William P. Hedgecoke, B. C. Maddux, Jake Mathews, Isaac McCormick, and Campbell S. Terry.

The Beginning of Plemons Lodge

The Lodge met in the District Court Room in Plemons, with stated meetings held on Saturdays on or before the full moon of each month. Dues were set at $3 per year, with degree fees of $11 each.

Among the first men to receive the degrees of Plemons Lodge was a man whose name would become permanently connected with the history of the Texas Panhandle.

William “Billy” Dixon petitioned Plemons Lodge for the degrees while the Lodge was still working under dispensation. He received his Entered Apprentice Degree on October 3, 1903, his Fellowcraft Degree on October 31, and was raised to the Master Mason Degree on November 28, 1903. He was the first Mason to receive all three degrees in Plemons Lodge.

On December 3, 1903, Plemons Lodge #877 received its charter from the Grand Lodge of Texas, signed by Most Worshipful W. W. Boothe, Grand Master of Texas.

On January 22, 1904, Right Worshipful George F. Morgan returned to Plemons and formally installed the Lodge’s officers. William Dixon served as Tiler during that first year. Morgan would later be elected Grand Master of Masons in Texas in 1920.

The Lodge Moves to Stinnett

Plemons Lodge remained in the community of Plemons for its early years, but as the surrounding area developed, the Lodge eventually moved with it.

In November 1927, the brethren voted 9 to 4 to move the Lodge from Plemons to Stinnett. The Lodge first established itself in the Starnes Building on Broadway Street, across from the Ricky Hotel. It later moved to the Tom Parks Building on Main Street before moving to the 114th District Court Room in the County Courthouse in 1939.

The early minutes contain relatively little discussion of the everyday operation of the Lodge. Much of the surviving record is devoted to applications for membership and the conferring of degrees. Even so, those records show a Lodge that continued to meet, initiate new Masons, and carry on its work through changing times.

The Lodge also helped establish a lasting Masonic and fraternal presence in Stinnett. An Eastern Star chapter was organized in connection with the Lodge in 1906 and was chartered as Stinnett Chapter #347 in 1907.

Through Difficult Years

Like the communities around it, Plemons Lodge experienced periods of growth and hardship.

During the Depression years, the Lodge faced the challenge of retaining members, including efforts to make dues more manageable. The records from the 1930s show that degree work continued even while membership was being lost.

The Lodge’s history also shows that Masonry was about much more than what happened inside the Lodge room.

The brethren helped members who were in distress, provided assistance to widows and those who were infirm, loaned money when needed, and gave their time to practical work such as building fences and painting houses. Family gatherings, Past Masters’ events, awards, and other activities formed an important part of Lodge life.

A Growing Lodge

Beginning in the 1940s and continuing into the early 1960s, Plemons Lodge experienced another significant period of growth, with a large influx of men petitioning for the degrees. The Lodge’s records from these years are filled with applications, investigating committees, and degree work.

The Lodge celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 7, 1954. More than 300 Masons attended the celebration, which included a presentation on the history of Plemons Lodge by Past Master Johnny Chronister and a Master Mason Degree conferred by a degree team from Khiva Shrine Temple in Amarillo.

By 1956, Plemons Lodge had reached its membership peak of 177 Masons. From its beginning with ten unaffiliated Masons, the Lodge had grown into a substantial Masonic body serving Stinnett and the surrounding area.

A Home of Its Own

In 1955, Plemons Lodge began another important chapter.

Ground was broken on August 19 for a new Lodge building at 619 Mackenzie in Stinnett. While construction was underway, the Lodge received permission to meet temporarily at the farm of Brother Kenneth R. McNutt, approximately fifteen miles northwest of Stinnett. The Lodge met there until July 1, 1956, when the new building was completed and the charter was moved into its new home.

The building became an important gathering place for Plemons Lodge and the wider Masonic community.

In 1964, Plemons Lodge hosted a joint installation of officers for the eight Lodges of Masonic District #102. The gathering included Plemons, Dumas, Hansford, Isom, Sunray, Gruver, Adobe Walls, and Billy Dixon Lodges, with 325 Masons and guests attending the meal.

Two years later, on April 30, 1966, the Lodge held a special meeting honoring its Past Masters and celebrating the burning of the mortgage on its building. 135 Masons and guests were present to witness the occasion.

Service Beyond the Lodge Room

Plemons Lodge was part of the broader Masonic community of Hutchinson County.

Its members participated in district and county-wide Masonic activities, including gatherings that brought the area’s Lodges together. In 1968, Hutchinson County Masons participated in a Law Enforcement Appreciation Banquet at the Bunavista Community Center, where between 240 and 250 people were served.

The Lodge also maintained a connection with organizations that shared its commitment to fellowship and service. Stinnett Chapter #347 of the Order of the Eastern Star was chartered in 1907 and remained associated with Plemons Lodge until the Lodge’s eventual merger. Rainbow Assembly #199 also met in the Lodge building; it was chartered in 1950 and became inactive in 1974.

Men Who Served Beyond Plemons

Throughout its history, Plemons Lodge was honored to have members serve the wider fraternity through the Grand Lodge of Texas.

Among those who served as District Deputy Grand Master were W. P. Hedgecoke, Glen F. Whitlow, Leslie B. Hale, William H. Mays, A. F. Lasater, Hugo A. Reimer Jr., Robert L. VanHuss, and Thomas R. Wicker. W. P. Hedgecoke served repeatedly during the 1910s and 1920s.

Their service reflected the influence Plemons Lodge had not only within its own membership, but throughout the Masonic fraternity in Texas.

The Legacy of Plemons Lodge

As the years passed, the circumstances surrounding Plemons Lodge changed.

Membership that had reached 177 Masons in 1956 gradually declined. By 1989, the Lodge had 63 members. At the same time, the cost of maintaining a Lodge building placed an increasing burden on the remaining membership.

On August 23, 1989, Worshipful Master Brice D. Manasco presided over the final meeting of Plemons Lodge #877. The Lodge then merged with Adobe Walls Lodge #1355 of Borger, Texas.

After 86 years, the charter of Plemons Lodge ceased to continue independently.

But the history of Plemons Lodge did not simply disappear.

It began with ten unaffiliated Masons in 1903, grew to one of the area’s strongest Lodges, welcomed generations of men into Masonry, served its members and community, built and maintained a home of its own, and helped carry Masonry through some of the most significant changes in the history of Hutchinson County.

Its Own Masonic Story

Gruver Lodge #1326 represents another distinct chapter in the Masonic history of the area.

The Unity Lodge history records that a charter was issued for Gruver Lodge in Gruver, Texas, in 1950.

For decades, the brethren of Gruver Lodge maintained their own Lodge, meeting in their own community and building their own traditions, friendships, and relationships.

Like the other Lodges in the area, Gruver’s story was shaped by the men who belonged to it and by the needs of their community. Its members carried the Masonic principles of brotherhood, charity, education, and service through generations.

Their History

Unfortunately, at the time of the merger, very few of Gruver Lodge’s minutes and records were brought over. Because of this, significant portions of the Lodge’s written history are no longer available.

Much of Gruver Lodge’s story lives instead in the memories of the brethren who were there—the men who experienced those years firsthand and the stories they passed down to those who followed.

While we may not have every meeting, every officer, or every accomplishment recorded, the absence of those records does not diminish the history of Gruver Lodge or the men who built it.

This page preserves what can be documented while recognizing that there is still much of the Gruver story that lives in the memories of those who were part of it.

Joining Together

By 2021, the circumstances facing Gruver Lodge had changed.

At the January 7, 2021 stated meeting of Unity Lodge, a motion was made and seconded to allow Gruver Lodge #1326 to merge with Unity Lodge #1242.

The merger was completed by March 18, 2021. Unity’s records note that the property of Gruver Lodge was turned over to Unity Lodge at that time.

The consolidation did not erase the history of Gruver Lodge.

Instead, the brethren and traditions of Gruver became another part of the heritage carried forward by Unity Lodge #1242.

The story of Gruver Lodge is therefore preserved alongside the stories of Isom and Adobe Walls—not as a footnote to them, but as its own chapter in the history of Masonry in this part of Texas.

A Tradition of Masonic Fellowship

The Panhandle Masonic Hilltop Association represents a different kind of Masonic history.

Unlike the individual Lodges whose stories are tied to a charter, a Lodge room, and a particular community, Hilltop was about bringing Masons from across the Panhandle together in fellowship. It became a tradition where Lodges could gather, welcome distinguished visitors, share in Masonic work, and strengthen the bonds between brethren.

The records preserved today do not establish the exact year the Panhandle Masonic Hilltop Association was first organized. However, they clearly document that by the early 1960s, the annual Hilltop tradition had become an established part of Panhandle Masonry.

The Early Hilltop Tradition

One of the earliest records currently preserved dates to July 29, 1961, when Adobe Walls Lodge #1355 participated in the First Annual Open Air Meeting at Skellytown, Texas. The featured speaker was R.W. Robert L. Dillard Jr., Deputy Grand Master of Texas.

The following years saw Hilltop meetings hosted by different Lodges throughout the region. In 1964, Floydada Lodge #712 and Shamrock Lodge #929 served as co-hosts of the Skellytown Hilltop Meeting, while Adobe Walls Lodge provided its Lodge room for the reception of visiting dignitaries.

The tradition continued to move throughout the Panhandle. Plemons Lodge #877 hosted the Annual Hilltop Meeting in 1966, welcoming Masons and Masonic leaders from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, and other jurisdictions.

Bringing Lodges Together

Hilltop became a gathering point where the individual Lodges of the region could come together as one Masonic fraternity.

The 1977 Hilltop Meeting provides a particularly good example. After the first section of the Master Mason Degree was conferred in Lodge, the brethren traveled to the Hilltop site on the Hugo Reimer Ranch for the second section. The degree was conducted by officers representing Lodges from across the Panhandle, including Sunray #1281, Isom #1242, Hansford #1040, Billy Dixon #1369, Pampa #966, Top of Texas #1381, and Adobe Walls #1355.

This was more than a meeting. It demonstrated the spirit that made Hilltop special: different Lodges, different communities, and different generations of Masons coming together in the same work.

A Tradition of Fellowship

Hilltop was also about fellowship outside the Lodge room.

By 2010, the Association was organizing reunions and community activities in addition to its Masonic gatherings. In September of that year, Hilltop Association members helped Swift & Co. personnel serve a barbecue dinner to approximately 3,500 employees at the Moore County Civic Center. Twelve Masons participated, with Brother Carl Unlaub serving as the contact person.

The Association also maintained the tradition of annual reunions. In 2011, plans called for Hansford Lodge #1040 to serve as host of the Hilltop reunion.

The Five States Conference

The Hilltop tradition eventually grew beyond the immediate Panhandle.

The Association hosted a Five States Conference in August 2011, bringing together Masons for several days of fellowship, Masonic business, programs, meals, and social activities. The conference included participation from Grand Lodges across five states and featured events at Palo Duro Lodge, Khiva Temple, and Palo Duro Canyon.

The conference reflected the broader purpose of Hilltop: creating opportunities for Masons to meet one another, exchange ideas, welcome Masonic leaders, and strengthen fraternal relationships across geographic and jurisdictional lines.

A Tradition Worth Preserving

For generations, the Panhandle Masonic Hilltop Association provided something that individual Lodges could not provide by themselves—a place where the Masonic family of the Panhandle could come together.

The host Lodge might change from year to year. The location might change. The programs and activities might change. But the purpose remained familiar: fellowship, friendship, Masonic labor, and the strengthening of the fraternity.

The Association’s own correspondence described its work as facilitating “friendship and fellowship among the Panhandle Masonic Fraternity.”

A New Chapter

The Hilltop Association continued into the twenty-first century. In January 2025, the Association was still operating with elected officers and was preparing for a meeting to determine whether the organization would continue as a viable organization or disband.

Whatever the future of the organization itself may hold, the history of Hilltop is larger than any particular organization or meeting.

For more than six decades of documented history, Masons from across the Panhandle came together through the Hilltop tradition. They traveled, worked, worshipped, ate, laughed, conferred degrees, welcomed distinguished Masons, and strengthened friendships.

The Lodges themselves remain the individual chapters of Panhandle Masonry.

Hilltop was one of the places where those chapters came together.

Not Gone, Only Waiting

The Panhandle Masonic Hilltop Association is not dead. It is simply resting.

Perhaps there will come a time when Masonry is once again thriving throughout the Panhandle, when brethren are filling our Lodge rooms, new generations are taking their first steps into the Craft, and there is once again a need for the fellowship and service that Hilltop was created to foster.

When that day comes, perhaps Hilltop will open its eyes again and rise to serve a new generation of Masons.

Until then, its history remains here—a reminder of what can happen when brethren and Lodges come together in friendship, fellowship, and brotherhood.

Hilltop may be resting, but its spirit remains.