The plan for the Masonic Institute of San Augustine, an early educational institution, was proposed by Red Land Lodge No. 3, and approved by Rising Star Chapter No. 9, Royal Arch Masons, on November 14, 1850. The institute was to be controlled by the two Masonic bodies, with 30 percent of the revenues of these organizations being appropriated for its maintenance. Voluntary subscriptions supplemented that revenue. There were two branches of the school, the Masonic Male Institute and the Masonic Female Institute, each with its own corps of teachers. James T. Thornton was in charge of the Male Institute, and Mary DeCamp officiated over the Female Institute. The school began in September 1851 and operated successfully for ten years.
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George L. Crocket, Two Centuries in East Texas (Dallas: Southwest, 1932; facsimile reprod., 1962).
Categories:
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Education
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Defunct Elementary and Secondary Schools
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Religion
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Freemasonry
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Robert Bruce Blake,
“Masonic Institute of San Augustine,”
Handbook of Texas Online,
accessed May 29, 2022,
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/masonic-institute-of-san-augustine.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
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Original Publication Date:
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1952
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Most Recent Revision Date:
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April 1, 1995