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F.O.E. Ten Commandment Monuments in Texas (5)
Capitol Monument Guide; Ten Commandments monument is No. 13
located between the Capitol and Supreme Court buildings
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Donated by FOE: 1961
Location: Texas State Capitol, 1100 Congress Ave. (See Capitol Monument Map for specific location.)
Scroll: “:Presented To The / People And Youth Of Texas / By The / Fraternal Order Of Eagles / Of Texas / 1961”
Litigation: In Van Orden v. Perry, 545 U.S. 677 (2005), the Supreme Court held 5-4 (no majority opinion) that the presence of the Eagles monument on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol did not violate the Establishment Clause. In the Jefferson Madison Center’s opinion, Chief Justice Rehnquist’s plurality opinion was filled with misrepresentations (documented in Robert V. Ritter’s Supreme Scandal: The Supreme Court Blesses The Ten Commandments).
In addition, it should be noted that at the trial court, attorneys for both sides (including Sen. Ted Cruz, then Texas Solicitor General) falsely stipulated that the Ten Commandments was an element of the Texas State Capitol’s designation as a National Historic Landmark.
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| Corpus Christi, Texas |
Nueces County Courthouse
Screenshot: Google Maps street view July 2015
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Corpus Christi, Texas Ten Commandments Monument
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Donated by FOE: 1960
Location: Nueces County Courthouse, 901 Leopard St., Lipan St. side.
Scroll: “Presented To / Nueces County / By / Fraternal Order Of Eagles / Aerie No. 2249 / 1960”
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| Dallas, Texas
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Dallas, Texas Ten Commandments Monument
Fair Park
Photo available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-waymarking-images/51af4eb8-ab6c-49f2-8497-9d9f42bdc39b.jpg |
Donated by FOE: 1956
Location: Fair Park, Texas State Fair, 3921 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Scroll: “Presented To / The City Of Dallas / By / Dallas Aerie No. 3108 / Fraternal Order Of Eagles”
Notes: The Dallas monument is an early Eagles monument with the commandments numbered by Roman numerals.
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| Galveston, Texas |
The monument is facing 23rd St. at the intersection of Broadway Ave. |
Galveston, Texas Ten Commandments Monument
Photo by Tuyet Anh Bach (May 2016) |
Donated by FOE: May 30, 1957
Location: The monument is in median of Broadway Ave. at the intersection of 23rd St.
Scroll: “Presented To / The City of Galveston / By Galveston Aerie 48 / Fraternal Order of Eagles / And Ladies Auxiliary / May 30, 1957”
Notes: Arie No. 48 has disbanded. The Hebrew commandments on two tablets atop the monument are unique amoung Eagles monuments.
In 2010, a woman mistook her throttle for the brake and crashed into a Ten Commandments monument. The woman, 20, was uninjured in the 2:48 am Thursday, June 24, crash, according to a Galveston police report. The woman prepared to turn west on Broadway when she saw another car drive through a red traffic light, almost striking her, the report states. She “went to hit the brake, but she missed and hit the gas on accident,” the officer wrote. The car crossed the median at 23rd Street and struck the Ten Commandments.
Headline writers pontificated throughout the day: “Wrong turn leads to God,” “Stray driver finds religion,” “Woman brakes Ten Commandments” and “Thou shalt not mistake the brake for the gas”.
The monument itself was not damaged, but now has a slight lean to the backside. See YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0EgQOR0QuI.
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| Odessa, Texas |
| Photo Not Available |
Donated by FOE: November 1957
Current Location: MCH Medical Center Hospital (500 W. 4th St., Odessa, Tx.); private property. The monument cannot be seen from the street.
Original Location: Ector County Courthouse.
Scroll: “Presented To / Nueces County / By / Fraternal Order Of Eagles / Aerie No. 2249 / 1960 ”
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