Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Gamma Theta Chapter
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Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Gamma Theta Chapter | |
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| Location | 918 Blake Street, Moscow, Idaho |
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| Coordinates | 46°43′35″N 117°00′25″W / 46.72639°N 117.00694°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1916 |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 96000945[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 3, 1996 |
The Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Gamma Theta Chapter is a historic fraternity house in Moscow, Idaho. It was built in 1916 for the Kappa Sigma chapter at the University of Idaho. It is the oldest extant fraternity building at the University of Idaho and in the state of Idaho. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
Kappa Sigma college social fraternity was founded on September 10, 1869, at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.[2] As of 2025, it is the largest social college fraternity in the world.[3] The fraternity chartered its Gamma Theta chapter at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho on September 30, 1906.[2][4][5] Gamma Theta was the first Kappa Sigma chapter established in the state of Idaho.[5] The chapter was formed from the local fraternity Sigma Delta Alpha, which had 21 active members in 1903.[5]
Gamma Theta established a building fund at First National Bank in Moscow by 1911.[5] In February 1912, the chapter purchased a lot on 918 Blake Street, facing west toward the university's administration building, for $1,100 ($35,841 in 2024).[5] This was followed by a capital campaign that yielded $12,000 ($372,987 in 2024) by the end of 1915.[5] In January 1916, the fraternity hired an Kirkland Cutter, a noted architect who worked extensively in the Pacific Northwest and California, to design their chapter house.[5]
Construction of the chapter house was completed in 1916, and it has been continuously occupied by Kappa Sigma.[5] It is the oldest extant fraternity building at the University of Idaho and in the state of Idaho.[5] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1996, as Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Gamma Theta Chapter.[1]
