Masonry in Richardson has been active from the year 1876 until present- with the exception of the year 1892-1924, when there was no Masonic lodge in Richardson. The first lodge in Richardson was the Richardson Masonic Lodge #457, chartered on June 10, 1876, and founded by 31 Masons who lived in the local area. Lodge meetings were held on the second floor of the White and Stratton Store, on the first Saturday after the full moon every month at 2:00pm. (Lodge meetings were held during daylight hours because of the scarcity of outdoor lighting.)

The names of the members of the original Richardson Masonic Lodge # 457 reads like a list of the founding fathers of Richardson, Texas. Many of the members of the lodge were founding members of the City of Richardson and were very active in the life of the town. During the sixteen years that the lodge existed (1876-1892), Brother James H. Fender served as Worshipful Master twelve times, and Brother W. M. Sebastian served as Worshipful Master twice.

Tragically, the Richardson Masonic Lodge #457 ceased to exist on May 15, 1892-sixteen years after its founding. At about 3:00 in the morning, the lodge was struck by lightning in a severe electrical storm. Three buildings were lost in the storm, including the Stratton Brothers Store, where the lodge met. The Richardson Masonic Lodge lost everything, including all its records. With nothing left, the lodge ceased to exist.

Then, in 1923 – 31 years later – a group of Masons who lived in the surrounding areas and were members of other Masonic lodges petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas for permission to form a lodge in Richardson. The authority to open a lodge under dispensation was granted by M.W. Gus A. Brandt, Grand Master of Masons in Texas, on February 28, 1924. A petition for a charter was sent to the Grand Master on December 1. 1924, naming Brother C.B. Reddick as Worshipful Master, C.F. Hudgins as Senior Warden, and J. E. Jackson as Junior Warden. These three brethren would become the first three Worshipful Masters of Richardson Masonic Lodge # 1214.

Since 1924, members of the Richardson Masonic Lodge have been very active in their community, and the lodge, itself, has moved locations and undergone remodeling a number of times. The lodge moved into its present location in 1965.

Adopted-in-Brief from
Masonry in Richardson (2000 AD), by Franklin H. Todd, Past Master, Lodge Historian