Cleburne became the Johnson County seat in 1867, and in 1869 the Grand Lodge of Texas granted a charter to Cleburne Masonic Lodge No. 315. Its members built a lodge hall in March 1871, and the town of Cleburne was officially chartered two months later. Early lodge members who were influential in the town's development included B.J. Chambers, Jeremiah Easterwood, N.H. Cook, J.A. Willingham, B.S. Greenshaw, B.F. Clayton, and Charles W. Breech. Several Cleburne mayors and county and state judges have belonged to the lodge, whose financial outreach and community activities center on educational efforts.