Theta Chi Society, as it was then known, was founded at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, at nine o'clock on Thursday evening, April 10, 1856.
At that time Frederick Norton Freeman '57, and Arthur Chase '56, met in Freeman's room in the Old South Barracks of the University and, to quote from the minutes of the first meeting, "being called to order by Mr. Chase, Messrs. Chase and Freeman mutually took the oaths prescribed and declared each other true and accepted members of the Theta Chi Society." From this humble beginning Theta Chi Fraternity has grown to its present status.
In this early period of American college life, fraternities were being organized in institutions all over the country. Many were local societies which enjoyed brief existences, while others, planned along national lines, grew, flourished, and expanded and are the national fraternities which we know today. Freeman and Chase, together with Egbert Phelps had been planning the organization of the society for more than two years prior to the organizational meeting. Phelps left Norwich and entered Union College, where he joined Chi Psi Fraternity. However, Phelps kept in contact with Freeman and helped so much with his advice and suggestions that it was felt he should be credited with being the "assistant founder" of Theta Chi.
It was Phelps who suggested the name of the Society and designed the first badge which was virtually the same as the official badge used today. Perhaps from his fraternity experience at Union College, he passed on to Freeman additional advice and suggestions which were helpful in writing our first ritual and constitution.
Theta Chi was the first Greek Letter society to make its appearance at Norwich. It was preceded in 1853 by a secret society known as the "Regulators." Whether there was any connection between the Regulators and Theta Chi is open to conjecture. It is known that Freeman was a Regulator and that when the Regulators passed out of existence in 1856 practically all of the paraphernalia of this organization passed into the possession of Theta Chi Society.
In the Spring of 1866 the Norwich University buildings burned. Old South Barracks, where Theta Chi was founded, was completely destroyed. It is reasonable to believe that some of the early records and relics of the Fraternity were lost at this time. The University moved after the fire to Northfield, Vermont, its present location. At the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Convention the Fraternity erected a granite monument with a bronze plaque at Norwich, Vermont, to commemorate the founding of the Fraternity. In the first decade of the Fraternity's existence a number of serious handicaps were experienced. The Civil War greatly depleted the student body of the University, for Norwich was a military school. After the fire in 1866 there was doubt for a while as to whether or not the University would continue. The war, the fire, and the uncertainty regarding the continuation of the University seriously lowered the attendance, and the school opened in the Fall of 1866 with only nineteen students.
In 1881 the student body of Norwich was reduced to a dozen men, and Theta Chi found itself with one active member. This critical situation was relieved when local alumni worked with the undergraduate member, James M. Holland, '83, in pledging and initiating Phil S. Randall, '86, and Henry B. Hersey, '85, thus preserving the existence of the Fraternity. After 1888 the affairs of the University took a decided turn for the better, and from then on there was never a question of Theta Chi leadership on the Norwich campus. From its very inception Theta Chi was planned as a national fraternity. Why it existed as a single chapter for nearly fifty years will probably never be definitely known. Expansion was no doubt delayed by two conditions, the unstable conditions of the University at first, and anti-expansion sentiment, which developed later within the chapter.
In 1888 Theta Chi Fraternity was incorporated under the laws of Vermont. From 1888 until the establishment of the Beta Chapter, fourteen years later, the history of the Fraternity is a history of steady growth of a chapter both in general strength and in members. On November 6, 1913, the first chapter installed west of the Mississippi was Mu Chapter at the University of California – Berkeley. On April 14, 1942, Beta Kappa Fraternity merged with Theta Chi Fraternity. They brought 16 undergraduate chapters and approximately 6,000 undergraduate and alumnus members to Theta Chi. In 1950, Theta Chi installed its 100th chapter with the Delta Theta Chapter at the University of Toledo. Theta Chi became an international fraternity with our Zeta Gamma chapter at the University of Alberta in Canada.
Although hindered by a serious depression and two world wars, Theta Chi has grown, and prospered beyond the dreams of the Founders to the position it now holds in the national fraternity scene.