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In the mid- to late 1800s, settlers established the Empire community, which at one time had a school, post office, churches, stores and a cotton gin. On December 14, 1884, 25 master masons petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas to form a masonic lodge in Empire. The first officers for Empire Lodge no. 586 were M.W. Mcbride, worshipful master; E.B. Simmons, senior warden; W.M. Blakeman, junior warden; J.E. Jones, secretary; and J.L. Stallings, treasurer. Meetings were held at Empire College on the Saturdays before full moons. In 1888, as Empire began to decline, the masonic lodge moved to Nevada. Members built a two-story wooden building facing west on Warren Street. In 1904, Empire Lodge bought the J.E. Davis building on the northwest corner of the Nevada square and sold the former building. The Davis building was destroyed by the deadly 1927 tornado which led to Nevada’s decline. The lodge endured, and construction began on a new building using funds donated by fellow lodges, the Grand Lodge and a loan; members met in the odd fellows hall until the new structure was completed. In 1972, the lodge moved from that building into a new structure. Masonic Lodge no. 586 has reached out to its surrounding communities since its inception. It adopted Bear Creek Cemetery, the last remaining vestige of the old empire settlement. Over the years, the lodge has also aided children of deceased members in getting into the masonic orphanage, has recommended area children with disabilities for the scottish rite hospital, and has participated in other community, school and social events. Today, it remains historically intertwined with Empire, while functioning as the oldest institution in Nevada. |
