Beta Theta Pi at Wabash College

One of the oldest chapters of college fraternities, the Wabash College Chapter of Beta Theta Pi was founded on 22 July 1846 by John Coburn. Coburn was brought into Beta Theta Pi by his friend Oliver P. Morton, later the Civil War governor of Indiana, and the Alpha Chapter of Beta Theta Pi located at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Coburn would later distinguish himself as the U.S. Brigadier General who accepted the surrender of Atlanta during the Civil War as well as being a US Congressman and Montana Supreme Court Justice.

Wabash College, one of the nation's highest-ranked selective liberal arts colleges, was founded in 1832 on the banks of Sugar Creek. Its mission was to provide a New England-style education to those in the then - frontier Midwest. The college was small (as it still is) but soon thrived.

As was popular at several other colleges at the time, students organized "literary societies" such as the Lyceum and Calliopean which maintained their own separate libraries, organized debates between the other societies, and provided something of a social outlet in the still-primitive Indiana wilderness. Still, these organizations were purely extra-curricular and were not intended to foster close friendships among the students.

The first chapter of Beta Theta Pi had been founded just a few years before in 1839 by John Reily Knox and seven other Miami University (Ohio) students. Morton arranged for Coburn to be initiated as a Beta and then start a Wabash College chapter. Thus, Beta Theta Pi, the first "national" fraternity, was the first modern-day fraternity at Wabash. Phi Delta Theta followed in 1850 and Phi Gamma Delta sixteen years later in 1866.

What distinguished Beta from the literary societies was that it embraced mutual assistance, academic endeavors, and friendship among its members.

Fraternity life in the 19th century largely centered on chapter meetings held in the room of a chapter member. These were pleasant affairs, often consisting of eating peanuts and singing songs. Some effort was also made at each meeting to read Shakespeare or other classics. Toward the latter part of the century, the Betas rented rooms in downtown Crawfordsville so that their meetings would be unhindered by on- campus "spies."

Finally, in 1907, the Betas purchased a large Victorian home at 513 West Wabash Avenue from the family of one of the College's founders. This signalled the beginning of the "modern era" of fraternities at Wabash, as two other fraternities on campus also chose to build chapter houses. Now, brothers would not only meet, sing, and greet each other, they would also sleep and eat under the same roof in a co- operative manner. The house was later remodelled in the late 1920's as an English Tudor Revival structure.

By the late 1950s, it became clear that the chapter house was needing to be replaced. Wabash College President Byron Trippet (a Wabash Beta alum), suggested a plan for all fraternities whereby the College would participate in the construction or renovation of new houses. This is significant. Unlike some colleges and universities, Wabash has always seen great value in her fraternities. Longtime former Dean of Students Norman Moore is often quoted as saying, "Fraternities are the life-blood of Wabash."

In 1962, following a wildly successful Beta alumni fund- raising campaign, the Betas moved into the fine house they now occupy. A 2.2 million dollar renovation and expansion of the house was completed in the fall of 2000. Utilizing the same mutual cooperation between Wabash and Tau as the 1962 campaign, a new wing to the rear of the house matched a completely new interior of the existing house. Beta Theta Pi had already formulated plans for such construction in the mid-1990s, but held off in deference to a capital campaign that the College was soon to announce. Both then formed a partnership that has served similar renovation and construction projects for the other campus fraternities.

1674 men and three women have been members of the Tau Chapter of Beta Theta Pi. Since Tau Chapter's founding, Wabash has fostered several other excellent fraternity chapters. In such company, Tau Chapter is especially proud of several of its own accomplishments. Since records have been kept, no other fraternity has won as many overall Intramural trophies and only one other has won as many scholarship trophies. Five of Wabash's six Rhodes Scholars have been Betas. And an inordinate number of Betas have been selected for Phi Beta Kappa.

The chapter's alumni continue these achievements. Among our chapter's more visible alums over the years have been two Mayors of Indianapolis Reginald H. Sullivan 1897 and Stephen Goldsmith 1968. Former Indiana Lt. Governor Richard O. Ristine 1941 also served as Executive Vice President of Eli Lilly & Company. Thomas Hays 1955 is the recent former president of May Department Stores (now Macy's) which owned L.S. Ayres, Famous- Barr, Lord & Taylor, and other department stores. Byron K. Trippet 1930 was Wabash College's beloved long-time President and Dean. Albert Baker 1874, Edward Daniels 1875, and Joseph Daniels 1910 founded and managed Indianapolis major law firm of Baker & Daniels. Carroll Ragan 1901 was the co-author of Wabash's fight song, "Old Wabash" and well author of the Wabash alma mater.

Fierce devotion to Wabash College is evidenced by the fact that Tau Chapter has supplied 29 members of the Wabash College Board of Trustees since 1871 and frequently leads in giving to the College. Baxter Hall, Detchon Center, and the new Trippett Hall are named for Wabash Beta alumni. The Frank Hugh Sparks Center is named for another former president of Wabash College who was a member of another Beta chapter.

The chapter is a multiple-winner of Beta Theta Pi International's Francis H. Sisson Award, granted each year to those chapters meeting the fraternity's highest standards. It has also periodically won other national awards over the past 15 years ranging from Best Chapter Newsletter, the Campus Involvement Award, the first quarterly "Cyber-Kai" Website Award, the Leadership Award, various scholarship awards, and Alumni Relations Awards.


This brief history is an adaptation of information found on the chapter website at www.wabashbeta.com that was written by this contributor.