Cornerstone in Texas

The new Limestone Medical Center won't officially open for about four month, but the ceremonies have already begun.
Masons for across Texas converged on Groesbeck last Friday to ceremoniously level two cornerstones at the facility. Cornerstones and cornerstone ceremonies are part of architectural history.
The cornerstone of a building is the stone that lies at the corner of two walls and forms the corner of the foundation of an edifice. Upon it the alignment of the entire structure will rest. History records, from ancient times, great ceremony involving the cornerstone before construction began on the architect's design. One of the most beautiful and meaningful of those moments is when the fraternity of Freemasons conducts a rite similar to those recorded in history. The ceremony of symbolically leveling a cornerstone. It is performed with solemn ceremonies giving dignity to the occasion.
The cornerstone is usually a polished stone, found near the foundation, but not a part of the foundation, and high enough from ground level to be easily read. A cornerstone generally has carved upon it such things as the name of the owner, purpose of the structure, date of the building's erection and some- times other facts.
Commemorative or dedicatory stones are the stones most commonly placed by the Masonic fraternity today. They are not part of the structure of the building, but fit into a space left in the stone or brickwork. Generally, the placement of such a stone is the last act in the building and serves as a dedication of the building and a signal of its completion.
The medieval stone masons organizations; builders of the glorious cathedrals across Europe are, in fact, forerunners of modern speculative Masonry. References to cornerstones are found in various places in the Holy Bible in both the Old and New Testaments that indicate the antiquity of the cornerstone and its uses.
Because Freemasonry is non-sectarian and because Freemasonry is heir to the historical tradition of building, it is the appropriate organization to dedicate or symbolically level the cornerstone of a public or religious edifice. For this purpose Freemasonry provides a special ritual to govern the proper performance of that duty. Among the ancients, cornerstones were laid with impressive ceremonies.
The Masonic cornerstone ceremony, like most customs, has evolved over years of use. The symbolism of the cornerstone, when duly laid with Masonic Rites is full of significance, which refers to its form, to its situation, to its permanence and to its consecration.
As to its form, the cornerstone must be perfectly square on its surfaces. To Masons, the square is a symbol of morality and truth. In the situation, the cornerstone will symbolically lie between the north, which Masons consider a place of darkness and the east, which Masons consider a place of light. Hence the northeast position of the cornerstone symbolizes the Masonic progress from darkness to light, from ignorance to knowledge. To permanence, the stone, when deposited in its appropriate place, is carefully examined with the necessary implements of operative Masonry which include the square, the level, and the plumb, themselves all symbolic in meaning. The cornerstone is then declared to be "well formed, true and trusty." Lastly, the elements of Masonic consecration are produced and the stone is solemnly set apart by pouring corn, wine, and oil upon its surface, emblematical of the nourishment, refreshment and joy which are to be the rewards of faithful performance of duty. Throughout Texas history, Masons have leveled cornerstones of schools, churches, local government buildings and public buildings. It is considered a great honor by Masons to perform this service in their communities.
The cornerstone should be an actual stone, cubical in form, upon the fact of which should be carved the words "Leveled (or Laid) by the Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. & A.M.," with the Masonic emblem and the year carved thereon. Commemorative or dedicatory stones are the stones most commonly placed by the Masonic fraternity today. They are not part of the structure of the building, but fit into a space left in the stone or brickwork. Generally, the placement of such a stone is the last act in the building and serves as a dedication of the building and a signal of its completion.
The medieval stone masons organizations; builders of the glorious cathedrals across Europe are, in fact, forerunners of modern speculative Masonry. References to cornerstones are found in various places in the Holy Bible in both the Old and New Testaments that indicate the antiquity of the cornerstone and its uses. In the Groesbeck Journal, here.