Sometime in the late 1870’s or early 1880’s the town of Cale, Indian Territory began to rise out of bountiful grasslands which had previously supported only herds of buffalo.  It was named for George W. Cale, an official of the St. Louis and San Frisco (The “Frisco”) Railroad. The town continued to grow, and on November 30, 1889 the first Post Office was established.  The first Postmaster was John C. Womack.

In 1899 the official platting of the town site began.  At this time, the population of the town was about 500.  As part of the “Atoka Agreement”, John A. Sterrett of Troy, Ohio was appointed by the President as the member of the town site commission representing the Federal Government, and Butler S. Smiser was appointed by Chief McCurtain to represent the Choctaw Nation.  The town was not laid out on a true north-south line as were the county section lines, but rather in line with the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) rail line which was then building through Bryan County.  This difference is still evident today when town streets and county section lines intersect.  On June 20, 1899 the name of the town was officially changed to Sterrett, Indian Territory and a new post office opened under that name.

Though the name of the town (and post office) was changed to Sterrett, the Katy railroad would not agree to this name change. The railroad continued to list the town as “Cale” or “Cale Switch” in it’s official railroad timetables.  This standoff continued until 1911 when the town fathers and Katy railroad officers met and compromised on the name Calera for both the railroad depot and the post office.

Rising Star Lodge was chartered under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Indian Territory, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, on August 9, 1898.  Stated meetings were held each month on the Monday night on or before the full moon.  Members of the lodge in the early days were the cream of the financial, agricultural, and business community.  These included James Monroe Dennis, Joshua Bethel Goza,  William H. Bacon, W.L. Scearce, Dr. Andronicus Junia Wells, Arthur C. Moody, David Crockett McCalib, Robert A. Chesnutt, and many other good men far too numerous to mention.

Early in the twentieth century, the fraternal organizations in town were meeting at a building on the west side of Main Street.  The bottom floor was the Wells Café, and the upper floor (reached by an outside stairway at the rear of the building) was the shared home of the Masons, Oddfellows, and Woodmen of the World Lodges.  If you look carefully at the left margin of the period photo above, you'll notice the Masonic logo prominently displayed on the side of the lodge building.  Masons then and now exhibit a justifiable pride in being Masons. 

By 1981, the Calera Masons had moved to our present lodge building (built largely through their own labor) on the east side of Highway 69/75 about two miles south of town.  The cornerstone was laid by Most Worshipful Grand Master Wilson B. Haney and many Grand Lodge and civic officials.  This was indeed a labor of love for the five members of the Building Committee: W. Carroll Burcham, Robert Huskey, Charles Hayes, Chester Jobe, and Andrew J. Townsend.  They constituted the only members on the Rising Star "Wall of Honor” until 2005.  In that year, the lodge unanimously voted to add the name of Harrison M. Luke in grateful appreciation of his 33 years of outstanding service as our lodge secretary.   The debt of gratitude we owe these great men of the Calera community is incalculable. 

For over 100 years, the Calera Masons have labored in service to our community.  Untold individuals, families, and public organizations in this area have benefited from our charity endeavors.  Our mission remains the same as it's always been --- to take good men into the world's largest and oldest fraternity and make them better by being of service to others.  We firmly believe that the next century of lodge history will be just as bright as the first.