https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ A short weekly Masonic history podcast from Johnson City Lodge No. 561, A.F. & A.M. — one sourced story each week from Texas and Masonic history, for brethren, prospects, and neighbors. The two hosts are AI voices, produced under the direction of a member of the lodge. Use as Masonic education, not minutes or official Grand Lodge guidance; any opinions expressed do not represent the official positions of Johnson City Lodge No. 561 or the Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. & A.M. en-us Johnson City Lodge No. 561, A.F. & A.M. Johnson City Lodge No. 561 Johnson City Lodge No. 561 jclodge561@gmail.com https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/art/show-cover.jpg https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ false On September 5, 1836, Stephen F. Austin, the 'Father of Texas,' came in a distant third in the Republic's first presidential election. Eighteen months earlier, six Masons in Brazoria, unable to get a lodge charter from Mexico, successfully petitioned the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, establishing Holland Lodge. This Masonic act of seeking a new, legitimate authority prefigured Austin's own decision months later in the same town to sanction the Texas Consultation. The story reveals the Masonic principle of acting by lawful warrant, and what happens when that authority must be reconstituted. The charter on the wall of Johnson City Lodge No. 561 traces its lineage directly back to this brave and orderly decision made under an oak tree in Brazoria. Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-08-31.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 412 false Meet Hardin R. Runnels, the only man who ever defeated fellow Freemason Sam Houston in an election. Discover his documented place in the Grand Lodge of Texas minutes for January 1852, representing Boston Lodge No. 69. Confront the difficult truth of a Texas governor and Mason who held thirty-nine people in slavery and championed secession. Explore why keeping an honest, unvarnished historical record—minutes, not eulogies—is a core Masonic duty. Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-08-24.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 390 false Meet Elisha M. Pease, the governor who built Texas institutions not with a sword, but with an honest ledger. Learn about the 1854 School Law and how Pease's financial discipline created the permanent school fund that supports Texas public education to this day. Explore the tradition of Pease's Masonic membership and the undeniable influence of the Craft on the leaders of the Republic and early State of Texas. Discover how Pease's unwavering principles led him to stand for the Union and resign the governorship rather than compromise his convictions. Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-08-17.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 355 false This week marks the birthday of Mirabeau B. Lamar, second president of the Republic of Texas and a member of Harmony Lodge No. 6. Known as the 'Father of Texas Education,' Lamar's greatest success was endowing public schools with land—a legacy that outlived his political and military failures. Lamar's story is a powerful Masonic lesson: a builder's work is measured not by its immediate cost, but by what still stands for generations to come. Discover the deep connections between Texas Masonry and public education, from Lamar's 1839 land grant to the modern Lamar Medal and Public Schools Week. Learn how Lamar's final resting place in Richmond, Texas, is inside a Masonic cemetery that marks one of the earliest Masonic acts in the state's history. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-08-10.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 366 false This week marks the birthday of William Barret Travis, the 26-year-old commander of the Alamo, born August 9, 1809, according to his family Bible. Before his Texas fame, Travis was a young lawyer, editor, and Mason, raised in Alabama Lodge No. 3 before his twenty-second birthday. Travis's famous 'Victory or Death' letter from the Alamo was addressed 'To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World'—an audience that includes us today. We explore how Texas Freemasonry has honored Travis and other brethren who fell at the Alamo, including the founding of Alamo Lodge No. 44 within the mission's walls. For Johnson City Masons, Travis's story is a local reminder of duty, with his legacy preserved just one county over in Travis County, where his original letter now rests. Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-08-03.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 406 false This week marks the death of Thomas J. Rusk, the stonemason's son who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, commanded its army, and helped found the Grand Lodge of Texas. Made a Mason in Nacogdoches in 1837, Rusk was a founding member of the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas just months later, helping build the very institution that charters our lodge today. Rusk's life shows Masonry's building metaphor in action, while his tragic death reminds the Craft that its work includes carrying our brothers' burdens, as no man is made of stone. As president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, Rusk was the highest-ranking Texan of his era, yet his story is a quiet one of foundational, load-bearing work for his state and nation. Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-07-27.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 384 false This week marks the anniversary of the death of Brother Sam Houston on July 26, 1863, a founder of the Republic and of the Grand Lodge of Texas. Explore how Houston's life was defined by sworn obligations—to his adopted Cherokee family, his Masonic brethren, and his country. Learn how his great refusal in 1861 to break his oath and swear loyalty to the Confederacy was the ultimate test of his Masonic character. Discover how Masonic memory preserves the whole, complex man—contradictions and all—rather than flattening him into a simple hero. Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-07-20.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 416 false How Masonic history is preserved in architecture, through the 1920 temple of Oak Cliff Lodge No. 705 in Dallas, designed by noted architect Herbert M. Greene. Buildings hold memory — but preserving a lodge's full story means connecting the structure to records, photographs, and living memory, from cornerstones and charters to the rooms where brethren meet. Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-07-13.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 342 false Oran M. Roberts — governor, jurist, educator, and first president of the Texas State Historical Association — embodies the civic duty of preserving public memory. We connect his affiliation with Redland Lodge No. 3 to the broader pattern of Texas Masons in law, education, and state-building, and note the passing of Governor Beauford H. Jester, another Mason in public office, this week in 1949. Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-07-06.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 326 false S. W. T. Lanham, a Texas governor born on the Fourth of July, helped guide the state from the frontier into the modern age. How Masonry in post-Civil War Texas built civic trust, stable institutions, and professional networks — and why Masonic history lives not only in revolutionary heroes but in the patient administrative work of building a state. Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-06-29.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 334 false The 1717 meeting at London's Goose and Gridiron alehouse, where four lodges formed the first Grand Lodge and created the operating system of modern regular Freemasonry — charters, recognition, and record-keeping. We trace that governing structure from England to the American colonies and the Republic of Texas, and connect it to the daily life of a local lodge like Johnson City No. 561. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-06-22.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 355 false On June 18, 1822, future Texas leader Samuel May Williams arrived at the mouth of the Colorado River, beginning a career that would shape the Republic. We also look at why the 1751 founding of the Ancient Grand Lodge of England matters for the lineage of Texas Freemasonry, follow the foundational story of Texas Masonry from Anson Jones's first meeting in 1835 to Holland Lodge's charter in 1836, and close at home with the chartering of Johnson City Lodge No. 561 in 1882. Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/texas-masonic-history-2026-06-15.mp3 https://johnsoncitylodge561.org/podcast/ 392 false