1001 Pythian Knights: Pythian Castle Toledo, Ohio

Back in 2022, I took a road trip around Toledo, Ohio. After taking a pit stop to the Oliver House for lunch in the center of downtown Toledo, I discovered a building that once housed a secret fraternity called Pythian Castle. 

Pythian Castle was run by a fraternity called Knights of the Pythians. The organization was founded in 1864 by Justus H. Rathbone.  The fraternity has a hierarchy with three ranks: page, Esquire, and Knight. Well-known members include Louis Armstrong and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Members inducted were given a ceremonial sword. 

Lodges were built throughout the United States. One was in Toledo, constructed in 1890 in a Romanesque style, and hosted many meetings there. I will leave a list below of where the others still stand. The building eventually was sold to Greyhound in 1951 and left vacant in 1974. 

But the intrigue doesn't end with the fraternity's history. The Pythian Castle, now a vacant building since 1974, is said to be haunted. Tales of chilling sensations and unexplained creaking have swirled around the building, adding to its mystique. The secrecy of the fraternity only served to fuel these rumors, making the Pythian Castle a fascinating subject of  speculation and curiosity. 

List of locations:

Pythian Temple (a.k.a Alabama Penny Savings Bank) - Birmingham, Alabama 

Knights of Pythias Building -  Phoenix, Arizona

Pythian Castle (Arcata, California)

Knights of Pythias Building, aka Granger Block - San Diego, California

Pythias Lodge Building -(San Diego)

Pythian Building (Middletown, Connecticut)

Knights of Pythias Lodge Hall (Weiser, Idaho)

Knights of Pythias Building and Theatre-Greensburg, Indiana

Knights of Pythias / Tyner Building- Hartford City, Indiana

Knights of Pythias Lodge- South Bend, Indiana

Palace Lodge-  Winslow, I

Knights of Pythias Temple - Louisville, Kentucky

Knights of Pythias Hall (now  South Bend, Indiana)

Palace Lodge-Winslow Indiana

Knights of Pythias Temple (Louisville, Kentucky)

Boothbay Harbor Opera House, Knights of Pythias Hall, BoothBay Maine

Pythian Home of Missouri

Knights of Pythias Building (Virginia City, Nevada)

Pythian Temple (New York City)

Circleville Historic District

Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex-Columbus, Ohio

Knights of Pythias Pavilion- Franklin, Tennessee

Knights of Pythias Building (Fort Worth, Texas)

Pythian Home- Weatherford, Texas

Pythian Castle (Portsmouth, Virginia)

Pythian Temple (Tacoma, Washington)

Oregon/Washington Pythian Home- Vancouver, Washington

Pythian Castle Lodge-Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pythian Castle, Baker City, Oregon