The idea for the Knights of Pythias was penned by a 19th century traveler and scholar named Justis H. Rathbone. His inspiration came from seeing a play called The Story of Damon and Pythias, by John Bynum, an Irish playwright. This story, based on Greek folklore, is about the friendship and loyalty between these true friends who were willing to lay down their lives for each other.

It is said that Rathbone wrote the entire ritual and statutes for the Knights of Pythias while secluded at a remote outpost during his travels. It lay forgotten in his collection until the Civil War, when a friend suggested that the time was ripe for such an organization that advocated peace and goodwill among men.

They gathered a group of government clerks and started the first lodge, Washington D. C. Lodge #1, which is still active today. Within 20 years, tens of thousands of KP lodges sprang up across the country with hundreds of thousands of members.

The Knights of Pythias spread to Missouri in 1869 when Robert Roth, a Knight in Tremont, Pennsylvania, moved to Kansas City. Roth immediately set about recruiting his new friends and neighbors to join the "KP’s". A meeting was held on February 22, 1870, in a hall at the corner of Main and Delaware streets, now the site of Kansas City’s River Market. A petition was signed at this meeting asking for a lodge charter. Kansas City Lodge #1 was officially instituted on March 5, 1870, with 45 members and with Robert Roth as it’s Chancellor Commander.

Word spread quickly and other lodges were soon being chartered. Soon there were enough lodges and members to petition the Supreme Lodge for a Grand Lodge charter. The Missouri Grand Lodge was chartered on July 7, 1871. Of the original seven lodges that founded the Grand Lodge, none are still in existence. They were: Kansas City #1, Missouri #2 (St. Louis), Independence #3, (Independence), Humboldt #4 (Kansas City), Hannibal #5 (Hannibal), Germania #6 (St. Louis) and St. Louis #7. It is interesting to note that these seven lodges were formed during an 11-month period from May 1870 through April 1871, which is an amazing feat, considering there were no telephones and mail sometimes took weeks to be delivered. Word of mouth and newspaper ads were the main media used to spread the word about the Pythian Order.

Even more amazing is that by 1895, Missouri boasted 269 lodges and over 21,000 members. Conventions were a sight to behold and culminated with grand parades through the streets of the host city. Thousands and thousands of citizens turned out to watch these parades, which were big entertainment in those days (no radio or TV, remember?).

Here are some interesting historical tidbits from our files:

In 1904, St. Louis had 33 lodges with a combined membership of 5,315. There were six lodges in Kansas City with an aggregate membership of 2,215.

In 1908, the Grand Lodge voted to construct a Pythian Home for Children in Springfield. It resembled a stone castle and many generations of orphans were raised and educated there before it was sold to the U. S. Army during World War II. The Castle still stands today and is now privately owned and used as an entrepreneurial center for disabled persons. It is also the meeting place of the new Syracuse Lodge #437, which was instituted on Feb. 10, 2001.