Chapter History

You have to know where you’ve been to know where you are going. Kappa holds a special place in its heart for Fraternity history, but every chapter of our organization has unique beginnings of its own. Each plays a part in shaping us today. Read more about our chapters’ histories in Kappa's digital archives.

This chapter was founded on September 26, 1881:

"Between the hours of twelve and one on Monday, September 20, 1875, Misses Weeks, Weaver, Jones, Church, Stickles, and Bacheller met in Room 11, second floor College Hall and became the founders of the Browning Society.” Thus read the minutes of the first organized meeting of the first women’s society at St. Lawrence University. The society took its name from the poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and took for its aims self-improvement and demonstration of women’s equal capacity and fitness for intellectual advancement. No men were allowed to take part in any strictly society enterprise.

The society first met at members’ homes...it was not until 1880 that the society moved into a college building, so it was here that traditions and customs originated. Here the members formulated the earliest St. Lawrence University “honor code” embodied in a series of resolutions against cheating and started the custom of the May Breakfast, now called Strawberry Breakfast.

In 1891, at the unsolicited invitation of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, the Browning Society became Beta Chapter of the Fraternity (given the name of the defunct Beta – St. Mary’s School, Knoxville, Illinois), and Kappa soon found that it had added to its ranks a flourishing, original, and energetic chapter, rich in ritual, insignia, and songs. Beta, already known for its original songs as “the singing chapter,” was chosen to publish the first Kappa Kappa Gamma songbook.

Beta was again honored at the Convention of 1890....at this time, Beta was renamed Beta Beta.

In 1898 the Fraternity, feeling that chapters of Kappa Kappa Gamma should be confined to large colleges and universities began to put this policy into effect by voting to withdraw the Beta Beta charter. The members of the chapter objected, and, unable to convince the Grand Council of their right to continue operating under their charter, referred the matter to the courts. Much feeling resulted from the controversy, and in 1903, Beta Beta ceased to be known as an active chapter and was reorganized as Zeta Phi, a local fraternity.

In May of 1914, Zeta Phi, wishing to enter a national organization and not wishing to give up the loyal Kappa alumnae, petitioned the Fraternity for a charter, and in April, 1915, the petition was granted by vote... Installation took place the following October, creating the Beta Beta Deuteron chapter was born.

In December of 1915 the chapter held its customary meeting with the alumnae, at which time the new active chapter was presented with the original charter of Beta. It has never been surrendered."  - Kappapedia (http://wiki.kappakappagamma.org/pages/Beta_Beta_Deuteron)