Explore the history of the Xi Chapter house, tracing its journey from the first home at 1038 Blake in 1916 to the current house at 709 Elm, built in 1958.

The Early Years: 1900–1909

In 1900, friends Rosa Forney and Christine Playfair started a sewing group called Alpha Delta Pi in Moscow, Idaho. By January 1901, it grew to 16 women, meeting above City Hall with 35-cent dues for a secretary’s book and stationery. Rosa was elected the first president, and they chose green and white as colors, a ruby as their stone, and passwords—ginger, mustard, and horseradish—to enter meetings. In 1905, Sadie Stockton joined, later becoming president, and after visiting Mu Chapter at Stanford in 1906, she encouraged applying for a Gamma Phi Beta charter. By 1908, the group focused on this goal, raising initiation fees from $2.00 to $3.50 to rent the McCauley house, then the Urquhart house on University and Deakin.

Joining Gamma Phi Beta: 1909–1910

On November 22, 1909, Alpha Delta Pi received a telegram from Gamma Phi Beta’s International Headquarters, accepting them as the 14th chapter and the first national sorority at the University of Idaho. President Mary Belle Meldrum was so moved by the news that she had to leave the room. The first Xi Chapter initiation took place on February 3, 1910, led by Lambda and Kappa Chapter members, with 26 women initiated over the weekend, including six original Alpha Delta Pi founders.

Building our Homes: 1916 and 1958

In 1916, with property donated by alumna Mrs. Lucy (Mix) Day, Xi Chapter built its first house at 1038 Blake for under $11,000, with President Ruth Broman Ellington paying room and board with wood from her father’s lot. The house expanded with an attic conversion in 1923, a sun porch in 1924, and a third floor in 1926 for $5,000.

By 1931, a sinking fund began for a new house, leading to lot purchases on Elm Street in 1935 and 1940. On March 31, 1958, Ola Bonham Einhouse broke ground for the current house at 7th and Elm.

A Legacy of Endurance

The 1997 renovation shaped our chapter house to the home that it is today. This house, guided by love, labor, learning, and loyalty, remains a cornerstone for Xi Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority on the University of Idaho campus.