The Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic appendant body that serves as a predominantly African-American counterpart to the mainstream Order of the Eastern Star, focusing on charity, community service, and fraternal bonds.

The idea for the creation of an Order of the Eastern Star for black women was first proposed by William Myers, a Grand Master in the Prince Hall Jurisdiction of the District of Columbia. With Georgiana Thomas, he set about getting the ritual and organization approved by the officials of the Lodge, and the first Chapter of the Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star was opened on December 1, 1874. The organization spread, and in 1907, a Conference of Grand Chapters, Order of the Eastern Star.

The name was changed to Interstate Conference of Grand Chapters in 1910 and International Conference of Grand Chapters in 1924. This organization was "dismantled" by the Prince Hall Conference of Grand Masters in 1976 and is now known as the Prince Hall Conference of Grand Chapters, Order of the Eastern Star.[3] Unlike the mainstream Order of the Eastern Star, the PHOES does not have a centralized organization. The state Grand Chapters are the main organizations, and the "annual conventions" are made up exclusively of Past Grand Matrons. The "thirty-first annual convention" was held in 1979.

Similar to Freemasonry, the Order of Eastern Star was not open to African Americans. Prince Hall Freemasonry was formed in 1784, and the first Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star chapter was founded on December 1, 1874, titled Queen Esther Chapter, No. 1, and established in Washington, D.C. by Thornton Andrew Jackson.

The "General Grand Chapter" was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 6, 1876. Committees formed at that time created the Ritual of the Order of the Eastern Star in more or less its current form.