Salado Lodge #296 has had a few cornerstone leveling ceremonies, some of which I covered for the newspaper I own before becoming a Mason. Two of those ceremonies were actually re-leveling of cornerstones on two historic structures: the first in the late 1980s for the ruins of Salado College, which was founded by a Mason who was the first Worshipful Master of a Bell County Lodge (Belton #166). The ruins were saved by the community effort and secured and the Grand Lodge re-leveled the cornerstone.
The second was when the "old red schoolhouse" on Main Street was saved and renovated to become a Civic Center for the community. The 1924 cornerstone was re-leveled by the Grand Lodge in the mid-1990s. The original cornerstone has the name of a Past Master of Salado Lodge as a member of the Salado school board (which was a new school district).
Those were both before I became a Mason.
Since then, our Lodge missed an opportunity to lay a cornerstone on a new school in the early 2000s. We waited too long in the process to be able to do it correctly. Lesson learned on this: START EARLY!!!!! As soon as you know that a City Council or School Board has approved the construction of a building begin making contacts with the authorities involved to get approval of the cornerstone leveling ceremony.
We were able to Lay a Cornerstone at the new Salado High School in 2010, just before it was occupied. The Grand Lodge had Treasurer Archie Scott come and act on behalf of the GL.
Something that is important, especially for a small lodge is this: The Grand Lodge must open a representation of the GRand Lodge BEFORE calling off to attend the cornerstone leveling. Every officer in the Grand Lodge representation must be a Past Master of some Texas Lodge. Plan for this ahead of time so that you can be sure that the seats are filled.
In small towns, work with the local paper to help publicize the event and invite the public to attend as well. For many in the public, this is their first -- and maybe only -- exposure to Masonry. If they see a beautifully-done Cornerstone leveling, it will leave a favorable impression on them, especially if there are dozens of Masons in attendance!
There is a great pamphlet published by the GLoT about Cornerstone Leveling. It is something to hand to the administrator of the public building at the beginning of discussions that is explanatory of the history of Masonry and why we level cornerstones, mentioning George Washington and other historical Masons and their roles in leveling cornerstones, etc. etc.
Also, here is a link to what I think is most of the copy from that pamphlet.... In my opinion, Grand Lodge would do well to make that pamphlet -- and many many other educational pamphlets and booklets -- available in electronic form....
here is the link
Grand Lodge Cornerstone Ceremony | The Grand Lodge of Texas A.F. & A.M.