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Caretakers of the past, stewards of the future.
The Rathbone School / Knights of Pythias Museum
(Photo: One side of the Rathbone School is set up as an original one-room schoolhouse.)
(Photo: The other side of the Rathbone School contains regalia and memorabilia commemorating the Knights of Pythias.)
2026 Season- June 14th through October 11th Location- The Rathbone School is located at the intersection of 3rd and Center streets in the town of Eagle Harbor, Michigan. The address is: 277 Center Street, Eagle Harbor, MI. GPS: N 47 27.441 W 88 09.761,Decimal Degrees: 47.45735, -88.16268 Related Links- |
100 Years Later: Great Lakes Shipwreck That Saved a Cargo of New Cars to Be Remembered at Copper Harbor On September 1, the Keweenaw Historical Society will receive a framed original painting by noted Upper Peninsula artist Clyde Mikkola, depicting the dramatic 1926 shipwreck and the unusual operation that followed: rescuing automobiles from a wrecked freighter in the depths of a cold Lake Superior January... READ FULL MEDIA RELEASE
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Located in Eagle Harbor, two blocks west of the harbor’s swimming beach, this extensively restored one-room school served the community from 1853 to 1872. The photo above shows the current building and the way the building appeared ca. 1900 with a tour of guests from the fraternal lodge, The Knights of Pythias. It was in this building that Justus H. Rathbone, who began teaching here in 1860, conceived the idea for the ritual of the Knights of Pythias, a secret fraternal society which he founded. This interdenominational organization, which had a peak membership of a quarter-million, continues to conduct its charitable work today across North America. 
The school has long been an object of pilgrimage by society members. In 1931, a thousand members gathered to pay homage to their society’s founder and to witness the unveiling of the nearby granite monument in honor of Justus Rathbone. 
Visiting The Rathbone School Museum
Keweenaw County Historical Society