Arizona Grand Lodge History
The Knights of Pythias in Arizona honor Brother Buck Henry. His tireless work was instrumental in creating the first 6 lodges in Prescott, Phoenix, Tombstone, Benson, and Charleston between April 6, 1877, and November 6, 1883. Brother Henry recruited new members and gathered together brothers who had initially joined the order before moving west. These early brothers created the Arizona Grand Lodge on March 27, 1884, at a meeting in Tombstone and created new lodges throughout Arizona.
The Rise and Fall of Mining Towns
Active Arizona KP Lodges
| 2 Phoenix | 9/25/1880 |
| 9 Tucson | 5/26/1888 |
| 13 Nogales | 9/17/1891 |
| 26 Tempe |
The early Pythian history was influenced heavily by the mining industry. The mines were the primary employer for these communities. A membership decline in the Knights of Pythias lodges mimicked the population exodus from towns. These Knights moved to work in new mines and the cities forming around them. They created new lodges as the members moved across the state. The lodges often closed or merged when the community failed.
Historical Arizona KP Lodges
| 1 Prescott | Old Pueblo & Tucson | 4/6/1877 | 2 Phoenix | 9/25/1880 | |
| 3 Tucson | closed 1887 later became “state” | 3/23/1881 | 4 Tombstone | became Rincon & Tucson | 7/25/1881 |
| 5 Benson | 7/12/1883 | 6 Charleston | became Cananea, Sonora (08-11-1903) | 11/6/1883 | |
| 7 Winslow | 1888 (?) | 8 Flagstaff | 5/23/1887 | ||
| 10 Rathbone | Bisbee | 1890 (?) | 11 Pinal Mountain | Globe | |
| 12 Western | Kingman | 13 Nogales | 9/17/1891 | ||
| 14 Grand Canyon | Williams | 1894 (?) | 15 Mountain Lodge | Flagstaff | 1894 (?) |
| 16 Solomonville | 1897 (?) |
17 Clifton | 1898 )?) | ||
| 18 Jerome | 19 Damon | Mesa | 1901 (?) | ||
| 20 Wilcox | 1902 (?) | 21 Valley | Pearce | ||
| 22 Congress | 1901 (?) | 23 Ivanhoe | became Yuma 45 | 1903 (?) | |
| 24 Morenci | 25 Border | Douglas | |||
| 26 Tempe | 27 Duncan | ||||
| 28 Fort Apache | Holbrook | 32 Copper City | Hayden | ||
| 33 Ray | 34 Miami | ||||
| 35 Clarkdale | 38 Winslow | ||||
| 39 Oatman | 40 Montezuma | Safford | |||
| 47 Pima | Tucson | 41 Picket Post | Superior | ||
| 43 Casa Grande | 44 Coolidge | ||||
| 45 Yuma | 48 Elden Lodge | Flagstaff | |||
| 55 Metro 55 | Tucson | 2014 | 79 Valley Shalom | Scottsdale | |
| 85 Green Valey-Sahuarita | 98 Rio Rico |
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