The Pythian Home can be seen for miles around. It is one of the most asked about structures in Weatherford. The Knights Of Pythias built this French style castle as a childrens home in 1907.
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The Knights Of Pythias saw the need to provide assistance to those less fortunate, namely the widows and orphans of Pythian Knights. Plans were begun in 1907 to erect a home for them. Ten bids were submitted to have the Pythian Home built in their areas, Brenham, Bell county, Corpus Christi, Comanche, Corsicana, Dublin, Files Valley, Fort Worth, Palestine, and Weatherford. Each bid had to detail the amount of land and money to be made available.
H.C. Shropshire and J.T. Cotten made arrangements for a special train to bring the representatives from the Pythian Convention to Weatherford. Local citizens met the train to transport the representatives to the site to have dinner. Weatherford residents turned out in great numbers to show support. The same outpouring of generosity and support continues today.
The main building was erected and the first residents moved in on March 1, 1909. The orphaned children lived upstairs, the staff on the main floor, and the widows with their children in the basement. The number of residents increased and a boy's dormitory was built in 1914. The girls moved to the basement and a school was started upstairs. This was a school for those living at the home and local area children. In the 1960's, the school was consolidated into the Weatherford School District. Many good things came from the Pythian Home School. One was an unbeatable football team. All of the present day students attend public schools, yet continue to participate in extra-curricular activities at the Home.
The Pythian Home was mainly self- sufficient in it's early years. They had a huge garden, an orchard, a dairy, and raised animals for food. Pythians across the state made up the difference financially with their Thanksgiving and Christmas donations. Throughout the years Pythians have continued to contribute to the endowment fund, from which the home operates. The interest paid is the monthly operating funds for the home. Government regulations have changed the way the home operates. They can no longer "can" vegetables, the milk must go through pasteurization, the meat must be sent through a processing plant, and on and on. These changes have taken away the possibility of self support, and added greatly to the home's operating costs. Now, in addition to some Pythian support, the private sector helps meet the home's needs by contributing in the form of goods and services.
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