[3] The Eagle Harbor Schoolhouse was constructed in 1853 by local builders,[2] and opened to serve the community's children that same year.

[3] 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.

[4] While teaching at Eagle Harbor, Rathbone and his friends formed a dramatic society and staged plays, including John Banim's Damon and Pythias.

[4]During his time teaching in Eagle Harbor, Rathbone wrote the ritual which became the basis for the Order of the Knights of Pythias.

[5] The Order of the Knights of Pythias was officially founded three years later in Washington, D. C.,[2] and was dedicated to the principles of "friendship, charity, and benevolence.