Grades K-12 Closed 2005 (dissolved) | Established 1913 Founded 1913 | |
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Notes School district for orphans, of notable historical interest Website Masonic Home and School of Texas - History Merged into Fort Worth Independent School District | ||
The Masonic Home and School of Texas was a home for widows and orphans in what is now Fort Worth, Texas from 1889 to 2005. The first superintendent was Dr. Frank Rainey of Austin, Texas. Starting in 1913, it had its own school system, the Masonic Home Independent School District.
Contents
- Map of Masonic Home Independent School District Fort Worth TX USA
- Early history
- Football glory
- Later years
- References
Map of Masonic Home Independent School District, Fort Worth, TX, USA
The campus included buildings designed by architects Wiley G. Clarkson of Fort Worth and Herbert M. Greene of Dallas, and it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 1992.
Early history
In 1889, the Masons opened a home for widows and orphans of Masons. Later, widows moved to a location in nearby Arlington (closed nearly a century later during the construction of Cowboys Stadium) and the home was opened to non-Masonic orphans. On January 10, 1913, under laws passed in 1905 allowing orphanages to organize their own schools, the Texas State Board of Education created the Masonic Home Independent School District.
Football glory
Its 1930s football teams are the subject a 2007 book by Jim Dent, Twelve Mighty Orphans. In 1995, the Masonic Home won the Class 1A State Football Championship in Groesbeck, Tx. under the coaches Tom Hines & Arthur (Buster) Bone, also an ex-student.
Later years
The school closed in 2005 due to lack of funding. The school district merged with the Fort Worth Independent School District and the buildings and grounds were sold to a private developer. The school's chapel is now a private facility known as the Bell Tower Chapel, a popular wedding location.