Corsicana in Navarro County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

IOOF Home Memorial Bell Tower

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 15, 2012

1. IOOF Home Memorial Bell Tower Marker

Inscription.
Erected A.D. 1987
By the Ex-Students Association
to commemorate the hundreds
of students
who lived, studied and prepared
for adulthood near this site,
and to honor the
Odd Fellows and Rebekas
of Texas
who made our home possible.
The bell in the tower tolled
the routine of the days
for more than a century,
marking not only the passage
of time, but also the
cumulative events that became
the stuff of memories.

Erected 1987 by The Grand Lodge of Texas, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations. In addition, it is included in the Historic Bells series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1987.

Location. 32° 4.601′ N, 96° 30.241′ W. Marker is in Corsicana, Texas, in Navarro County. Marker is on West 2nd Avenue near North 43rd Street. Located on the Navarro College Campus. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3400 West 2nd Avenue, Corsicana TX 75110, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Odd Fellow and Rebekah Children's Home (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); 15th Texas Infantry Companies E and G

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(approx. 0.4 miles away); Navarro Rifles (approx. 0.4 miles away); Corsicana Hebrew Cemetery (approx. one mile away); James Clinton Neill (approx. 1.6 miles away); Dunn-Ransom Home (approx. 1.7 miles away); Smith-McCrery Home (approx. 1.7 miles away); Judge John S. Callicutt (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Corsicana.

Regarding IOOF Home Memorial Bell Tower. In 1885 the Grand Lodge of Texas, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, founded the I. O. O. F. Widows and Orphans Home, one of the first fraternal orphanages in the state. Corsicana Lodge No. 63 and other local citizens gave 200 acres as a site for the facility. On April 26, 1886, the cornerstone for the first permanent building was laid. Only one child was residing here in 1891, but enrollment and financial support soon increased. The home became a self-contained community with its own independent school district, farm and dairy, power plant, and water supply. Abel Rice Auditorium, built in 1911 when enrollment was over 300, contained a swimming pool and gym, and housed the fine arts department sponsored by

IOOF Home Memorial Bell Tower, Watkins Carter Hamilton Architects, Inc., Houston Texas image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 15, 2012

2. IOOF Home Memorial Bell Tower, Watkins Carter Hamilton Architects, Inc., Houston Texas

Marker on left, inside the arch

the Rebekah lodges. This institution also served as a home for the aged from 1905 until a separate facility opened in Ennis in 1928. After peaking at nearly 400 in the 1920s, enrollment dropped sharply in the 1930s and 1940s. The school closed in 1943, and students began attending Corsicana public schools. Campus buildings were modernized in a 1945 "reconversion program." Renamed in 1948, the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Children's Home has provided care for over 5500 persons. (Texas Historical Commission 1977)

Present site at Navarro College image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mike Stroud, September 15, 2012

3. Present site at Navarro College

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on January 25, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 615 times since then and 55 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 25, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.