- Schoolhouse c. 1906
- Monument to Justus H. Rathbone located next to the schoolhouse
Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse | |
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Location | Third and Center streets, Eagle Harbor, Michigan, United States |
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Coordinates | 47°27′24″N88°9′46″W / 47.45667°N 88.16278°W Coordinates: 47°27′24″N88°9′46″W / 47.45667°N 88.16278°W |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | 1853 |
NRHP reference No. | 72000628 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 1972-09-22 |
Designated MSHS | 1971-12-10 [2] |
The Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse is a school located at the corner of Third and Center Streets in Eagle Harbor, Michigan, United States. It is significant as the location where Justus H. Rathbone was first inspired to write the ritual which was the basis of the Order of the Knights of Pythias. The schoolhouse was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971 [2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. [1] It is also known as the Pythian Shrine [2] and as the Rathbone School. [3]
The Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse was constructed in 1853 by local builders, [2] and opened to serve the community's children that same year. [3] It was the first schoolhouse built in the area. [2]
In about 1859 or 1860, Justus H. Rathbone began a stint as schoolmaster at the school. [3] Rathbone had moved to the Keweenaw Peninsula in 1857 on the advice of his doctor, and taken a position as schoolmaster and part-time clerk at the Central Mine. [4] He later moved on to schools at the Northwest Mine, Eagle River, and to this schoolhouse in Eagle Harbor. [4] While teaching at Eagle Harbor, Rathbone and his friends formed a dramatic society and staged plays, including John Banim's Damon and Pythias . [4] The themes of friendship in the play inspired Rathbone; according to him:
The idea [of establishing a fraternal order] presented itself to me one day while reading over the play at the school-house. It then occurred to me that there was an excellent foundation in the story of Damon and Pythius for a fraternal secret society. The high type of friendship therein portrayed seemed to me to be the basis upon which such a society could and should be established. [4]
During his time teaching in Eagle Harbor, Rathbone wrote the ritual which became the basis for the Order of the Knights of Pythias. [2] Rathbone himself stayed in the Keweenaw only until 1861, when he learned of the death of his father. [5] The Order of the Knights of Pythias was officially founded three years later in Washington, D. C., [2] and was dedicated to the principles of "friendship, charity, and benevolence." [2]
The schoolhouse continued to serve the community until 1892. [3] In the 1920s, the Pythians purchased the schoolhouse and added a gable roof to the existing belfry. [2] A bronze memorial to Rathbone was erected nearby in 1931, [3] and the building currently functions as a Pythian shrine. [2] In 1971, the historical importance of the site was recognized by its designation as a Michigan State Historic Site, and the following year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [2]
In 1982, the schoolhouse was deeded to the Keweenaw County Historical Society. [3] The Society furnished the interior as a period school, and included exhibits related to the Knights of Pythias. [3] The building is open to the public during the summer and early fall. [3]
The Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse is a square building with gabled roof measuring 24 by 24 feet (7.3 m × 7.3 m). [2] The structure is covered with clapboard siding pierced by sash windows covered with shutters. [2] The shingled gable roof has cornice returns, and a gabled belfry frame sits on one end of the roof. [2]
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on February 19, 1864. The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been inspired by a play by the Irish poet John Banim about the legend of Damon and Pythias. This legend illustrates the ideals of loyalty, honor, and friendship that are the center of the order.
The story of Damon and Pythias is a legend in Greek historic writings illustrating the Pythagorean ideal of friendship. Pythias is accused of and charged with plotting against the tyrannical Dionysius I of Syracuse. Pythias requests of Dionysius to be allowed to settle his affairs. Dionysius agrees, on the condition that Pythias' friend, Damon, be held hostage and, should Pythias not return, be executed in his stead. When Pythias returns, Dionysius, amazed by the love and trust in their friendship, frees them both.
The Pythian Home of Missouri, also known as Pythian Castle, in Springfield, Missouri, was built in 1913 by the Knights of Pythias and later owned by the U.S. military. German and Italian prisoners-of-war were assigned here during World War II for medical treatment and as laborers. Some prisoners were kept in the detached powerhouse and laundry room behind the castle. The laundry room is still owned by the U.S. Army.
The following is a list of Registered Historic Places in Keweenaw County, Michigan.
This National Park Service list is complete through NPS recent listings posted June 3, 2022.
Eagle Harbor Light is an operational lighthouse at Eagle Harbor, in Keweenaw County in the state of Michigan. It sits on the rocky entrance to Eagle Harbor and is one of several light stations that guide mariners on Lake Superior across the northern edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The original lighthouse, built in 1851, was replaced in 1871 by the present red brick structure, which is a Michigan State Historic Site and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Justus Henry Rathbone was an American school teacher and the founder of the international fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias. Prior to and during the American Civil War he taught, worked in a number of places for the government, and with news agencies, and also served as a hospital steward during the war.
The Pythian Opera House, also known historically as the Knights of Pythias Hall, Boothbay Harbor Opera House and The Opera House, and formally as The Opera House at Boothbay Harbor, is a historic meeting hall and multifunction building at 86 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Built in 1894, it has housed government offices of the town, and the meeting spaces of fraternal organizations, prior to its present use as a performance venue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 30, 2008.
The Church of the Assumption is an historic Carpenter Gothic style Roman Catholic church located on US 41, 400 feet east of M-26 in Phoenix in Houghton Township, Michigan. It is also known as the Phoenix Church. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
Holy Redeemer Church is an historic Carpenter Gothic style Roman Catholic church located at the west end of Center Street in Eagle Harbor, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1958 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The Central Mine Methodist Church is a church located on Old Stage Road in Central, Michigan, in the Central Mine Historic District. It is one of the few structures being maintained in this nearly deserted mining town. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1970.
The Pythian Temple, built in 1906 for Commencement Lodge Number 7 of the Knights of Pythias, is an historic building located on Broadway in the Theater District of Tacoma, Washington. It was designed by noted Tacoma architect Frederick Heath.
The Knights of Pythias Lodge Hall, also known as Pythian Castle, in Weiser, Idaho is a building built in 1904. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The Pythian Castle is a building in Arcata, northwestern California, that was built during 1884-85 for the North Star chapter of the Knights of Pythias fraternal order. It is notable for its commercial Queen Anne style architecture which features five projecting towers: two square towers projecting from the center of the two street-fronting sides of the building, and three round towers projecting from the street-side corners. Patterned shingles covered the tower roofs in the past. The corner ones have "witch hat"-shaped tops and used to sport tall finials. The side ones once had cresting.
The Pythian Castle Lodge, also known as Crystal Palace, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, was built in 1927 by the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The New Granada Theater at 2007 Centre Avenue in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was built in 1927 and 1928. This Art Deco theater was designed by architect Louis Arnett Stuart Bellinger, and originally was a Pythian Temple, a meeting place for the Knights of Pythias. In this case, it was a lodge for a group of African American construction workers known as the Knights of the Pythian. In the 1930s, the building was sold to Harry Hendel, who moved two blocks from his old Granada Theater to this New Granada Theater. The building was remodeled in 1937 and 1938 by Alfred M. Marks, and it became a movie theater as well as a place for live entertainment, music and dancing. Jazz legends such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Cab Calloway performed at this location.
The Erin–Warren Fractional District No. 2 Schoolhouse, also known as the Halfway Schoolhouse, is a school building located at 15500 Nine Mile Road in Eastpointe, Michigan, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1990.
The Eagle Harbor Coast Guard Station Boathouse is a boathouse located at 9282 Marina Road in Eagle Harbor, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
The Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khorassan or Dokeys are a side degree of the Knights of Pythias, somewhat analogous to the Shriners in Freemasonry. The Order was founded in 1894.
The Pythian Sisters are the female auxiliary to the Knights of Pythias.
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