The national fraternal organization, Sons of Hermann, organized in New York in 1840 to help preserve German traditions while easing the transition of German immigrants into American society. The Grand Lodge of Texas formed in 1890 in San Antonio with eight lodges. In the 1890s, the Dallas Uhland Lodge #22, Columbia Lodge #66, Fortuna Lodge #119, and Germania Lodge #5 joined the Grand Lodge of Texas. Along with annual events such as parades and statewide chapter meetings, the Sons of Hermann in Dallas also organized a school in 1893 to teach children how to read and speak the German language. In 1898, the Dallas chapters requested that the Texas State Fair designate a German day. The celebration included speeches in English and German, music, and observance of German/American Heritage Day and the landing of the first Germans in America. In 1910, the four organizations filed for a charter to acquire a suitable building for meetings. The building erected on Elm Street in 1910 was meant to be temporary, but it found permanent use as a dance hall, bowling alley, and meeting place. By the 1920s, the Sons of Hermann in Texas was one of the largest and most successful fraternal groups in the nation. Original membership was reserved for individuals of German decent, but by 1994 membership opened to all ethnic groups. Today, the Sons of Hermann in Dallas remain active in the community with dances, parties, participation in the State Fair, golf tournaments, and youth activities, and continue to serve the area through charitable activities, in keeping with the Sons of Hermann motto, “friendship, love and loyalty.”