Alvarado Masonic Lodge No. 314 A.F. & A.M. Chartered in 1869, the Alvarado Masonic Lodge began under leadership of A. J. Chambers, J. C. Weaver and Joel Higgins. From its earliest years it offered strong support of local education. The first lodge building provided classroom space, and the lodge administered local school efforts, establishing the Masonic Institute in the 1870s. It later became Alvarado Normal Institute and then Alvarado High School. The lodge has also supported the Masonic Home and School in Fort Worth and hosted the Grand Lodge of Texas meeting (1946). Civic leaders who were also lodge members include town founder William Balch and first mayor J. H. Wright. The lodge continues to aid the community through its many programs.