A Short History of Beaumont Lodge
Napoleon Bonapart Bendy’s Store – Circa 1888
With Brother N.B. Bendy in the East as Worshipful Master, Beaumont Lodge U.D. set to work under dispensation and held its first meeting on Saturday February 24, 1866, in a room above Brother Bendy’s store. Intended as a temporary location, the minutes of this first meeting indicate a committee was formed to find and fit an affordable accommodation for the Lodge to meet.
“On motion, brothers Swinford and Ward were appointed a committee to rent of J.J. Herring a certain room to be used by this Lodge as a Lodge room and also to fix the rate of rent of the same and to report to the present meeting. On motion, to receive the report of the special committee, composed of Brothers Swinford and Ward, the following report was read and adopted. That the price (8$) per month is not too much provided the house be put under the exclusive control of the Lodge. Mr. Herring’s retaining the right to rent the hall and receive pay. Therefore, at any time it may in no way conflict with the business of the Lodge. That the Lodge put the hall in condition to be used by them and pay for the same and deduct the rent from the amount each month until the expense of fitting up the hall shall be paid. On motion, Brother A.J. Ward & J. Swinford were appointed a committee to superintend the fitting up of J.J. Herring’s Hall to be use by this Lodge as a Lodge room & on motion the W.M. was added to this committee. On motion, Brothers A.J. Ward, and J. Swinford were appointed a committee to procure the necessary materials to make the appropriate Jewels and Aprons for the use of this Lodge and on motion the W.M. was added to this committee.”
The minutes also reflect that three petitions were received, read, and referred to by the committee for investigation. One of the petitioners was W.A. Cushman.
From February 24, 1866, through June 7, 1866, three months and twelve days, the Lodge conducted four “Stated Meetings” and two “Calle Meetings” under dispensation. During this period, the Lodge received four petitions for affiliation and seven unaffiliated petitions for a total of eleven. The four petitions for affiliation produced three “fair” and one “dark” ballot. The remaining seven non-affiliated petitions produced three “fair” and four “dark” ballots. The first ballot taken under dispensation was “dark.” The brethren did their duty and in their minds upheld the moral values and virtues of Masonry. They did not give in to the temptation that more is better during the time of the Lodges infancy. The foundation of a Lodge must be built upon men of high moral character who exhibit the four cardinal virtues of Masonry: temperance, prudence, fortitude, and justice.
On May 26, 1866, the forth Stated Meeting was held. During this meeting, a motion was made and seconded and the following Preamble and Resolutions were adopted.
“Whereas it being necessary that we the members of the Beaumont Lodge U.D. be represented in the Grand Lodge of this State to meet and hold in Houston on the 2nd Monday in June next therefore: Resolved: That we the members of Beaumont Lodge U.D. entertaining the highest confidence in Brother Bendy’s devotion and ambition in the promotion of the good of this ancient order: do hereby appoint him our duly authorized agent to visit said Grand Lodge for the transaction of all business connected with the procuring of a Charter or any other business connected with this Lodge. Resolved: the W.M. (Brother Bendy) of this Lodge be and he is hereby authorized to draft upon the treasurer of this Lodge to the amount of forty nine dollars; the same to be expended for Charter and in payment of the Grand Lodge dues and to defray his expenses while in attendance or the Grand Lodge going to and returning from Houston where the same holds its annual Communication for this year.”
On June 2, 1866, a Called Meeting was convened for the sole purpose of examination and to raise Brother Cushman to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. Brother Cushman was the only petitioner raised to Master Mason while the Lodge was under dispensation. Brother Cushman followed Brother Bendy as Worshipful Master in January 1870.
On June 7, 1866, Brother Secretary A.D. Kent certified the required documents under dispensation, which were hand carried to the Thirtieth Grand Lodge Communication on June 11, 1866, by W∴M∴ N.B. Bendy. The Thirtieth Annual Communication was held in Houston with M∴W∴G∴M∴ Robert M. Elgin presiding. 66 Lodges were in attendance for the five day event. The Grand Master’s opening remarks were sad revealing the death of M∴W∴ Archibald S. Ruthven, Past Grand Master. Also, during his address, the Grand Master made the following comments about sister Grand Lodges:
"All impediments to a free interchange of Masonic courtesies having been removed, we are again in correspondence with our sister Grand Lodges of the other states in the Union, as well as most of those in foreign countries, with which we formerly held intercourse. In looking over the proceedings of those Lodges for the last few years, I have been gratified to find that amid the turmoil and bloodshed, the bitter feeling and hatred outside, the genuine principles of Free Masonry have governed the action of our sister Grand Lodges. Even in those jurisdictions where the strife was most bitter, and partisan hatred most intense, we find that, although the feelings of a brother or the action of a particular Lodge has occasionally gone beyond the teachings of the Order, and caused them to forget for a moment the time-honored regulations of the Craft, the Grand Bodies have stood, almost without exception, as I trust they ever will, the great conservators of the Institution, and have checked every movement calculated to degrade the Order into a participation in political and partisan affairs."
A veteran of the Mexican War and Civil War, M∴W∴G∴M∴ Elgin exemplifies the virtues of Masonry in his comments to heal the wounds of war and to reestablish those tenants of Masonry that may have been lost because of war. During the conclave, Brother Bendy filed the required documents and paid the fees. Beaumont Lodge U.D. was given the designation number 286 and granted its charter on 16 June 1866. Beaumont Lodge 286 was set to work on July 7, 1866, under its charter by D∴D∴G∴M∴ James Wrigley of Liberty County, Texas. Brother N.B. Bendy was the Worshipful Master, D.A. Pattillo was designated Senior Warden and Brother J.C. Milliken the Junior Warden.
Napoleon Bonapart Bendy – Circa 1866
First Worshipful Master of Beaumont Masonic Lodge 286
February 1866 to December 1869
From 1838 through 1845 the Grand Lodge of Texas membership was 357 members and it is estimated that an additional 1,100 Masons from other jurisdictions lived in Texas. During this same period Masons made up about 1.5 percent of the population of Texas, yet occupied 80% of the republic’s higher offices, a stunning statistic. All of the presidents, vice presidents, and secretaries of state were Masons. After annexation Masons continued to dominate public office with five of the six governor’s fraternity members. Between 1838 and 1860, Texas had 226 active Lodges and 9,000 members. Approximately 3,800 Texas Masons joined military service during the Civil War.
In the early to mid-nineteenth century Jefferson County consisted of pioneers working perilously to establish a home in a Republic in its infancy. Trails and rivers were used as roads, municipalities were just being established and public services were virtually non-existent. The economy of Jefferson County was largely dependent on cattle, farming, and timber. In the 1850’s timber became the major economic driver and would prove to be the stimulus to repair a shattered postwar economy. Loggers used the Sabine and Neches rivers to float timber to mills in Beaumont and nearby Orange, Texas. Lumber, shingles, and cross-ties were milled and exported. By 1860 the Texas and New Orleans Railroad linked Beaumont to Houston and Orange. In January 1860, the Eastern Texas Railroad was chartered to run from Sabine Pass through Beaumont, Nacogdoches, and Mount Enterprise, ending in Henderson, Texas. In 1861, the line was operating from Sabine Pass to Beaumont, but the Civil War began and all construction on the line stopped.
According to the Texas Almanac, the population of Beaumont in 1850 was 151. As families moved into Beaumont, several men were already Master Masons and thoughts of forming a Masonic Lodge in Beaumont began in 1860. A two story building was built at the corner of Pearl and Wall streets and was known as Masonic Hall. For five years, Beaumont did not have a sufficient number of Masons residing within its jurisdiction to form a Lodge. On April 12, 1861, the Civil War began and thoughts of forming a Lodge in Beaumont were abandoned, as many of the Lodge’s future members marched off to fight for the Confederacy. On September 13, 1865, a hurricane hit southwestern Louisiana and destroyed Orange Texas. According to the National Weather Service “four out of 200 homes were left standing.” Beaumont received damage as well, and the Masonic Hall was destroyed.
After the Civil War, reconstruction began in Texas with the arrival of Union Troops on June 19, 1865, in Galveston. The arrival of Union Troops on June 19, 1865, marks what is now known as Juneteenth, a celebration of freedom for African Americans in Texas and the rest of the United States. Union Troops began paroling of former Confederate soldiers. In July 1865 Andrew Jackson Hamilton was appointed as provisional governor of Texas by President Andrew Johnson. Upon his arrival, Hamilton issued a proclamation outlining his policies and invited loyal men from every region of the state to come to Austin and meet with him. President Johnson’s instructions were to arrange for a convention to be held for the purpose of re-establishing state and local civil government and the restoration of constitutional relations between the state and federal government. Texans faced the reality that the Confederate cause had failed and slavery was abolished. The occupation of Texas by Union troops had begun, and reconstruction was being forced upon it. It would be nearly ten years before Texas would be self-governing.
Beaumont was no exception to occupation when Federal Troops arrived in July 1865. Troops made up of the 37th Illinois Volunteers commanded by Major Ransom Kennicott occupied Beaumont, and nearby Sabine Pass. N.B. Bendy’s store became a familiar meeting place where people would gather to discuss topics of the day such as politics, freed slaves, and reconstruction. During the winter months of 1865, a group of 11 Masons were a part of this local circle and decided to form a lodge where like-minded Brethren could meet. On Saturday, December 30, 1865, this group of Brethren drew up a petition and requested the assistance of Madison Lodge 126 in Orange, Texas. The Brethren asked Madison Lodge 126 in Orange, Texas to recommend to the Grand Master of The Grand Lodge of Texas the issuance of dispensation to form a Masonic Lodge in Beaumont. The petition was carried, on horseback, to Madison Lodge by Brother George A. Pattillo on Saturday January 6, 1866.
On February 14, 1866, the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Brother R.M. Elgin, granted dispensation empowering and authorizing the fifteen “Member Brothers, to form and open a Lodge and to admit and make Freemasons according to the ancient custom and not otherwise.” The first meeting of Beaumont Lodge U.D. was held at N.B. Bendy’s store located on the corner of what is now Cypress and Tevis Street. Notice the benches arranged in a square at the bottom of the picture for people to sit and discuss topics of the day.
