The Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse was constructed in 1853 by local builders, and opened to serve the community's children that same year. It was the first schoolhouse built in the area. In about 1859 or 1860, Justus H. Rathbone began a stint as schoolmaster at the school. 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. He later moved on to schools at the Northwest Mine, Eagle River, and to this schoolhouse in Eagle Harbor. While teaching at Eagle Harbor, Rathbone and his friends formed a dramatic society and staged plays, including John Banim's Damon and Pythias. The themes of friendship in the play inspired Rathbone; according to him:
The idea 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.
During his time teaching in Eagle Harbor, Rathbone wrote the ritual which became the basis for the Order of the Knights of Pythias. Rathbone himself stayed in the Keweenaw only until 1861, when he learned of the death of his father. The Order of the Knights of Pythias was officially founded three years later in Washington, D. C., and was dedicated to the principles of "friendship, charity, and benevolence." The schoolhouse continued to serve the community until 1892. In the 1920s, the Pythians purchased the schoolhouse and added a gable roof to the existing belfry. A bronze memorial to Rathbone was erected nearby in 1931, and the building currently functions as a Pythian shrine. In 1971, the historical importance of the site was recognized by its designation as a Michigan StateHistoric Site, and the following year it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1982, the schoolhouse was deeded to the Keweenaw CountyHistorical Society. The Society furnished the interior as a period school, and included exhibits related to the Knights of Pythius. The building is open to the public during the summer and early fall.
Description
The Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse is a square building with gabled roof measuring twenty-four feet by twenty-four feet. The structure is covered with clapboard siding pierced by sash windows covered with shutters. The shingled gable roof has cornice returns, and a gabled belfry frame sits on one end of the roof.
