Constituted on June 5, 1875, Howe Lodge No. 430, A.F. and A.M., was organized in the early Grayson County community of Farmington, five miles southwest. Members voted to move the lodge to Howe in 1887 after the earlier settlement was bypassed by the railroad. In Howe, the first lodge hall was constructed above the early Methodist Church Chapel, and later facilities were built as the lodge grew. Part of its growth came as a result of a merger with the Dorchester Lodge in 1966. Numerous war veterans and civic leaders have been members here.