By T.S. Akers
It is noted that Freemasonry is a progressive science,
attainable only by degrees. Through
those degrees “students” of Freemasonry obtain knowledge and this pursuit of
knowledge ties Freemasonry to those pursuits found in the halls of
academia. Owing to this, it is not at
all uncommon to find Freemasons in posts at Universities. One such school where the work of Freemasons
commenced on day one and the signs are still evident is the University
of Oklahoma.
The year 1889 saw the opening of the Unassigned Lands which
would be organized into Oklahoma Territory
by the Organic Act of 1890, thus providing the framework for a territorial
legislature.[i] One of the early acts of the new legislature
was the establishment of institutions of higher education. On December
19, 1890, the University
of Oklahoma was established as the
state university in Norman with an
agricultural and mechanical college in Stillwater
and a normal school in Edmond.[ii] It took some time to get the fledgling
university of its feet, but the first President arrived in Norman
on August 6, 1892.[iii]
When David Ross Boyd arrived in Norman
in 1892, he found his campus to be nothing more than a prairie.[iv] He would go on to serve as President until 1908,
seeing enrollment rise to 790 by the end of his tenure. Boyd took great pride in his campus;
evidenced by his building projects and his tree planting campaigns which today
make much of “old” Norman appear as
a wooded island on the prairie.[v] During Boyd’s tenure at the University he also
enjoyed the Brotherhood of Norman Masonic Lodge.[vi] Perhaps his most lasting legacy is the home
that stands at the corner of University and Boyd today, known as Boyd House it
serves as the official residence of the President of the University
of Oklahoma.[vii]
Boyd’s first great task was assembling an able faculty for
his new university. One of those hires
was Edwin C. DeBarr.[viii] He would go on to establish the Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering Departments in addition to the School
of Pharmacy.[ix] DeBarr was also a very active Freemason,
serving as Worshipful Master of Norman Masonic Lodge and High Priest of Norman
Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. As a
member of Oklahoma Commandery No. 2 stationed in Oklahoma
City, he served as Grand Prelate of the Grand
Commandery Knights Templar of Oklahoma in 1902.[x] Another of Boyd’s hires, James S. Buchanan,
would go onto serve as the fourth President of the University
of Oklahoma (1923-1925).[xi] One can also find Buchanan’s name among the
attendance records of Norman Masonic Lodge.[xii]
While these men’s time on Earth was finite, several
buildings on campus erected during their lives still bear the marks of
Freemasonry in the form of cornerstones.
Evans Hall
(Courtesy of T.S. Akers)
In 1909 construction began on what was then known as
Administration Hall. The building, which
would replace the burned University Hall, would go on to be named Evans Hall
for second university president Arthur Grant Evans. The construction of the new building became a
personal project of his, with every detail gaining his seal of approval.[xiii]
On November 16, 1909, the newly consolidated Most Worshipful
Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma
assembled to lay the cornerstone of the new edifice.
(Courtesy of T.S. Akers)
Whitehand Hall
(Courtesy of T.S. Akers)
The Twenties saw a variety of Masonic construction projects
commence in Oklahoma, one of
those was Albert Pike Hall. The building
was erected by the McAlester Valley
of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite with a healthy contribution from the
Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma.[xiv] The building originally served as a dormitory
for those male students with Masonic affiliation including the Acacia social
fraternity.[xv] Albert Pike Hall was sold to the University
of Oklahoma in 1946 and renamed
Whitehand Hall for Captain Robert H. Whitehand, a playwright and professor of
drama.[xvi] The vestiges of Scottish Rite Masonry remain
upon the structure today, though it now serves as faculty offices.
(Courtesy of T.S. Akers)
Ellison Hall
Completed in 1928 and originally named Hygeia Hall, what is today Ellison Hall served as the first university infirmary. The building was renamed in the 1930s for Dr. Gayfree Ellison, first Director of Student Health. Housed inside were examination and treatment rooms, hospital rooms, and surgery rooms. The School of Arts and Sciences has called Ellison Hall home since 2004.[xvii] The cornerstone laid by Grand Master Flesher can be found on the building’s west face.
(Courtesy of T.S. Akers)
Today many college men are seeking out the brotherhood of Freemasonry. The Masonic Fraternity of Oklahoma still actively supports higher education. Most recently a gift was presented to the University of Oklahoma, Division of Student Affairs in the amount of $250,000.[xviii] Through the work of Freemasons, students, and professors, the legacy of such pioneers as David Ross Boyd and his original faculty lives on.
[i] “Oklahoma
Territory,” Oklahoma Historical
Society’s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma
History and Culture, <http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/o/ok085.html>,
Accessed 28 July 2013.
[ii] David W. Levy, The University
of Oklahoma: A History (Norman: University
of Oklahoma Press, 2005), 14-16.
[iii] Ibid., 36.
[iv] Ibid., 37.
[v] “Boyd, David Ross,” Oklahoma Historical
Society’s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma
History and Culture, <http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/B/BO030.html>,
Accessed 28 July 2013.
[vi] Robert G. Davis and James T. Tresner II, Indians,
Cowboys, Cornerstones, and Charities: A
Centennial Celebration of Freemasonry in Oklahoma
(Guthrie: The Most Worshipful Grand
Lodge of the State of Oklahoma
Library and Museum, 2009).
[vii] Carol J. Burr, “Welcome to Boyd House,” Sooner
Magazine, Fall 2006.
[viii] Levy, 39-40.
[ix] "Former Dean Profile: Edwin C. DeBarr," The University of
Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, <http://pharmacy.ouhsc.edu/about/history/deans/debarr.asp>,
Accessed 28 July 2013.
[x] Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Oklahoma,
Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conclave (Oklahoma:
1902).
[xi] “James Shannon Buchanan,” The Chronicles
of Oklahoma 8
(September 1930): 353.
[xii] Norman Lodge No. 5 AF&AM, Tyler’s
Register, 1898 – 1901, Private Collection, Norman Lodge No. 38, Norman,
Oklahoma.
[xiii] Levy, 209-210.
[xiv] Charles Evans, “Henry Lowndes Muldrow,” The
Chronicles of Oklahoma
29 (January 1951): 397.
[xv] Robert G. Davis and Frank A. Derr, 100
Years of Scottish Rite Masonry in the Valley
of Guthrie (Oklahoma: Guthrie Valley AASR), 99-100.
[xvi] James T. Tresner II, “A Monumental Life: An Incomplete Article,” The Scottish Rite
Journal (June 2003).
[xvii] “Ellison Hall Rededication,” The University
of Oklahoma College of Arts and
Sciences, <http://cas.ou.edu/ellison-hall-rededication>, Accessed 30 July
2013.
[xviii] “OU Receives $250,000 Gift for Leaders Summit
From Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma,” University
of Oklahoma Public Affairs, <https://www.ou.edu/content/publicaffairs/archives/LeadersSummitGift.html>,
Accessed 30 July 2013.
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