Masonic Widows and Orphans Home Historic District
Also known as: Masonic Home and School of Texas
Why it's listed
Set in southeast Fort Worth, this 206-acre campus served as the Masonic Widows and Orphans Home, later known as the Masonic Home and School of Texas. The historic buildings stand on the eastern half of the property, arranged around a large quadrangle with a great lawn. Most are red brick with limestone trim in the Late Gothic Revival style, and each displays the Masonic emblem prominently. The 1920s campus plan was laid out by Wiley G. Clarkson, who designed the Administration Building, dining hall, superintendent's house and senior boys dormitory. Herbert M. Greene designed the girls' dormitories. Two earlier buildings, a laundry from 1910 and a dairy and industrial arts building from 1915, survive from the first phase of development. The district represents the way fraternal organizations cared for the widows and orphans of their members, a type of facility that spread during the Progressive Era. It also holds a largely unaltered group of institutional buildings from 1910 to 1941. Later buildings from after 1941 are modern in design and are not counted among the historic resources.
Significance in brief: The district is a largely intact example of a charitable home of the Progressive Era, built and run by a fraternal organization to care for the orphans and widows of its members. It is also significant for its collection of Late Gothic Revival institutional buildings from two phases of development, 1899-1920 and 1920-1941. These buildings were largely planned by architect Wiley G. Clarkson.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 91002022, listed January 28, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by E. Berry St., Mitchell Blvd., Vaughn St., Wichita St. and Glen Garden Dr., Fort Worth |
|---|---|
| County | Tarrant County |
| Listed | January 28, 1992 |
| Reference number | 91002022 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1910-1941 |
| Architect / builder | Wiley G. Clarkson; Herbert M. Greene; James T. Taylor (builder of the Administration Building) |
| Architectural style | Late Gothic Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The campus is still in use as a home and school. The power plant from the early campus was demolished in 1989, and several buildings had their windows replaced in the 1970s and 1980s. |
| Acreage | 206 |
| Within district | Wolflin Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.18562, -101.85238 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 91002022.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999757
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.