Alpha Chapter was founded by the first five women to attend Colby College - Mary Caffrey Low, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Fuller, Frances Mann and Louise Helen Coburn - in 1874. During the school year of 1873-74, the women decided to form a literary and social society. College administrators informed them that they needed to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa Sorority. They began work during that year with an eager glow of enthusiasm. Their purpose at the outset was that the sorority should become what it is now, a national organization of college women. On Nov. 9, 1874, the five young women received a letter from the faculty approving their petition.Additional archival information about the founding of Sigma Kappa and Colby College can be found from the Colby College Special Collections here.
