The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The Grand Lodge of Texas will conduct a cornerstone leveling ceremony at Bridge City Masonic Lodge #1345 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 23 at 365 N. John St. All masons, their families, and the public are invited to attend. Refreshments will be provided after the ceremony is completed.

The leveling of a cornerstone ceremony is a function of The Grand Lodge of Texas and must be authorized by the Grand Master. The Honorable James F. Brumit, Grand Master of Masons in Texas, has authorized the Honorable Brother Duane Anthony to officiate at the ceremony. Honorable Brother Anthony is a member of The Grand Lodge of Texas Committee on Work.

The medieval stone masons organizations; builders of the glorious cathedrals across Europe are in fact, forerunners of modern speculative Masonry. The earliest record of an official ceremony, for a public building was the laying of the foundation stone of the New Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Scotland on Aug. 2, 1738. On Sept. 18, 1793, President George Washington officiated at the laying of the cornerstone of the United States Capital Building.

Commemorative or dedicatory stones are the stones most commonly placed by the Masonic fraternity today. They are not part of the structure of the building, but fit into a space left in the stone or brickwork. Generally, the placement of such a stone is the last act in the building and serves as a dedication of the building and a signal of its completion.