Order History

Justus H. Rathbone

Justus H. Rathbone was born October 29, 1839 in Deerfield, New York. He graduated from Colgate University and attended Carlisle Seminary. He was a music composer and actor. One of his compositions, a Mazurka, was played at President Garfield’s inaugural ball and received high praise among musicians. He was a great Shakespearean scholar and often took part in amateur plays.

In 1863 he moved to Washington D.C. as a government clerk in the United States Treasury Department, where he founded the Knights of Pythias on February 19, 1864. Rathbone based the Knights of Pythias ritual on the mythological friendship of Damon and Pythias while he was a school teacher at the Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse in Eagle Harbor, Michigan.

If fraternal love held all men bound, how beautiful this world would be.
- Justus H. Rathbone, Founder of the Knights of Pythias

The Drama That Influenced the Order

The Order bases its lessons and builds its ritual largely on the familiar story of the friendship of Damon and Pythias. Familiarity with the Banim play encouraged Justus H. Rathbone to organize a fraternal order on the basis of such friendship.

The Legend of Damon and Pythias

The story of Damon and Pythias is a Greek legend first recorded by Aristoxenus and later Cicero. Many literary works reference this story, such as Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” Louisa M. Alcott’s “Little Men,” and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

The Irish poet and dramatist John Banim wrote a play based on the friendship of Damon and Pythias. It was first seen in London in 1821 and had a great legacy with hundreds of performances.

Damon and Pythias were historical characters living about 412 B.C. They were members of The Pythagorean Brotherhood, founded by Pythagoras the father of Greek philosophy. The Pythagorean Brotherhood required aspiring members to overcome very rigorous tests. Some of these were very similar to the ritualistic work of our order today. The object of the organization was the moral uplifting and purification of society. Strict morality, absolute truthfulness, honor, and integrity were thoroughly inculcated in the minds of its members. Pythagoras held that man’s two most excellent things were “to speak the truth and to render benefits to each other.” However, the outstanding feature of the society was the marvelous friendship and loyalty which bound the brotherhood together with hoops of steel. Damon and Pythias demonstrated these principles in the historical incident, forming our order’s basis.

Abraham Lincoln and Our Ritual

The suggestion made by the President was adopted. An application was made to Congress for a charter, and the Order of Knights of Pythias was the first American Order ever chartered by an Act of the Congress of the United States.

President Abraham Lincoln, being advised of the contents of the ritual and its teaching, said:

The First Lodge and Early Organization

Justus H. Rathbone worked as a citizen nurse in the United States Hospital in Germantown, PA where he met Robert A. Champion and read to him the ritual of our order. Robert Champion offered to help create the first lodge. On Feb 15, 1864, Brother Rathbone called Robert A. Champion, William H. Burnett, David L. Burnett, Edward S. Kimball together and administered the obligation to them using his pocket Bible which was given to him by his mother. He then performed the ritual which was in manuscript form. Justus H. Rathbone instituted the first lodge of the order as Washington Lodge #1 in Washington D.C. four days later on February 19, 1864, with thirteen charter members. They adopted Brother Rathbone’s ritual with only minimal changes.

The next important step in the history of the order was the organization of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia on April 8, 1864. The Supreme Lodge organized on August 11, 1868, after two preliminary meetings.

Its first small group of members took the vows of the new order with their hands placed upon a pocket Bible that had been given Mr. Rathbone by his mother. Many thousands have been privileged to become members using this treasured relic of the Order. A ceremony using this treasured Bible is known as a “Rathbone Bible Class.”

Every sentence has a meaning, and every paragraph filled with a beautiful and inspiring lesson in the Order’s ritualistic work. The flag of the country has an honored place at every meeting. The Holy Bible is the supreme Book of Law. The Order does not seek to shape any man’s creed, but Pythianism is the practical application of religious and charitable principles to everyday life. We have a heritage of which we are proud, and our precepts and teachings lead men to higher ideals of life. We invite like-minded men of good character to join us in making these ideals the dominant factor in modern living.

The Order of Knights of Pythias is an international, non-sectarian fraternal order, and was the first fraternal order to be chartered by an Act of Congress.

Arizona Grand Lodge History

The Knights of Pythias in Arizona honor Brother Buck Henry. His tireless work was instrumental in creating the first 6 lodges in Prescott, Phoenix, Tombstone, Benson, and Charleston between April 6, 1877, and November 6, 1883. Brother Henry recruited new members and gathered together brothers who had initially joined the order before moving west. These early brothers created the Arizona Grand Lodge on March 27, 1884, at a meeting in Tombstone and created new lodges throughout Arizona.

The Rise and Fall of Mining Towns

The early Pythian history was influenced heavily by the mining industry. The mines were the primary employer for these communities. A membership decline in the Knights of Pythias lodges mimicked the population exodus from towns. These Knights moved to work in new mines and the cities forming around them. They created new lodges as the members moved across the state. The lodges often closed or merged when the community failed.

Active Arizona KP Lodges

Historical Arizona KP Lodges