History
Rho Chapter was founded on October 15th, 1855 in 25 South College by ten Lafayette undergraduates. We are the oldest surviving fraternity at Lafayette College. In the fall of 1857 the Lafayette Faculty attempted to abolish fraternities by requiring every student to take a solemn obligation not to join a secret society. The pledge can be found in the following document
Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Lafayette College, for the Year
1858-9, Easton Pa. p. 13
The Board action, July 27, 1857, read:
That the Faculty require each student to sign a Pledge that during his connection with the college he will not join any secret society, now existing or that may hereafter be organized. And that upon graduation it be necessary in order thereto to sign a Paper that he has not broken his pledge, this Resolution to be put into force upon the commencement of the next term.
However, Brother Joseph Barret, '61, on account of ill health was forced to leave the college in the spring of 1857, but returned one year later. During his absence the Faculty restrictions had gone into effect, but did not affect him. He was free to wear the badge of DKE, and had the exceptional honor of being the only man in Lafayette who could wear the badge of his fraternity. The Faculty and Trustees withdrew the ban about 1870 when they realized it was ineffective.
After the end of college opposition to fraternities, Rho of Delta Kappa Epsilon obtained the first fraternity chapter house at Lafayette in 1896. The Rho Chapter expanded, and soon needed a larger house. Construction on the second house began in 1903 and was completed in 1904, just in time for Rho's fiftieth anniversary at Lafayette College. This new Chapter House (pictured below) was located across from present day Skillman Library.
On December 3, 1959 the Chapter House was ravaged by fire, weakening the structure beyond repair.
Three years later in 1962, the present DKE Rho House on March Field was completed. It has been occupied continuously since 1962 (pictured below).
