Shortly after the town of Lorena was laid out (1881) and incorporated (1882), three Master Masons, Andrew J. Shelton, Charles C. Hawkins and William A. Stanford, petitioned the Grand Lodge of Texas to form a masonic lodge in Lorena. On December 12, 1884, the lodge’s charter was granted. The lodge rolls listed 27 men, some living in neighboring Falls County. Membership ranged from 16 members in 1889 to 133 members in 1981. The lodge has had four meeting halls in its history. Tragically, the first was destroyed in an 1886 storm one week after the lodge received the title. The lodge constructed two more structures, in 1886 and 1911. By the 1980s, the lodge began to raise funds for a new structure. Lodge member M. Denton Stanford, grandson of original Mason W.A. Stanford, gave a total of $40,000 to build a new meeting hall. After his passing in 1989, the lodge was renamed for him. The meeting hall opened in 1992. The meeting hall has been shared with Lorena’s Chapter no. 1124 of the Order of the Eastern Star since its inception in 1983. M. Denton Stanford Lodge No. 594 has dedicated time and effort into charitable endeavors since its founding. In 1886, the lodge gave funds to support the widow of a lodge member. Funds have also been donated to the masonic home and school for children, masonic home for old masons, funeral costs for lodge members, flood and tornado victims, Lorena Cemetery Association and Lorena volunteer fire department. The lodge has also undertaken several endeavors related to education, including programs focusing on student reading skills, hygiene, scholarships and school lunches. For over 100 years, M. Denton Stanford Lodge has served the community. (2023)