Gamma Sigma

Gamma Sigma Fraternity International (ΓΣ), initially founded as a literary society in 1869 in Brockport, NY, is known as the first international high school fraternity.[1] The organization no longer has active chapters at the secondary level; however, it has an active alumni association based in the Greater Toronto Area and in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada.[2]

The Wisdom Window - A stained glass window dedicated to the Brockport Normal School Class of 1915 by the Gamma Sigma Fraternity's Alpha chapter.
Gamma Sigma
ΓΣ
FoundedOctober 11, 1869 (1869-10-11)
Brockport Normal School (SUNY Brockport)
TypeLiterary/Social
AffiliationIndependent
EmphasisNormal Schools(early days); Secondary
ScopeInternational
MottoGNOTHI SOPHIAN
"Seek Wisdom"
Member badge
Colors  Old rose and   White
PublicationPyramid & Crescent
Chapters119 (in 1969)
Nickname"Gams"
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The Gamma Sigma Society was founded on October 11, 1869, by Professor Charles Donald McLean at the Brockport Normal School (known today as SUNY Brockport). Charles McLean was the principal for the first several decades of the normal school and helped establish one of the major elements of the school's culture, its Greek Letter Societies. These societies flourished at the school from 1869 to 1940.[3]

The society formed chapters at other schools, both normal[4] and high schools. At a convocation held in Brockport in June 1891, the chapters of Gamma Sigma formed themselves into a general fraternity.[5] The first chapter of Gamma Sigma Fraternity outside of New York State was chartered in Evanston, Illinois on November 24, 1894. It was the Eta chapter. [6]

The Gamma Sigma Fraternity was incorporated in New York State on May 1, 1907.[7]

By 1925, Gamma Sigma Fraternity had 26 chapters in eight states and the District of Columbia. Alpha Zeta chapter in Niagara Falls, Ontario, installed on December 11, 1927 at Niagara Falls Collegiate Institute, made it the first international secondary school fraternity in the world.[8]

On October 11, 2019, Gamma Sigma Fraternity International alumni gathered in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the organization. It had been 150 years to the day, since its founding.[9]

References
  1. Atkinson, Joseph W., Gamma Sigma: The First One Hundred Years - Centennial Publication of Gamma Sigma Fraternity (1969). Gamma Sigma Fraternity International Incorporated, Brockport, New York. https://archive.org/details/gammasigmafirsto00jose/mode/2up
  2. Gamma Sigma Fraternity published a 2019 Reunion Ad, accessed 28 February 2022.
  3. Noted in the History of the College at Brockport, accessed 28 February 2022.
  4. "Normal" schools were developed as teachers training schools, appearing in the US by the 1850s through 1950s, and positioned as a practical option between technical/trade schools and more theoretical colleges and universities. Expansion of normal school degree offerings has led many of these to become junior colleges and then into state or regional universities, dropping the "Normal" moniker.
  5. Mann, James, "Dedication of the New Building for the Practice School and Normal Hall" (1902). Papers on the History of the College at Brockport. 30. http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/student_archpapers/30
  6. The Normalia student newspaper, Vol. VIII, No. 5, State Normal School, Brockport, NY, March 1908.
  7. NYS Department of State, Division of Corporations https://www.dos.ny.gov/corps/
  8. William G. Andrews with Eunice Chesnut, Mary Jo Gigliotti, Kathy Goetz, Hazel Kleinback, and Jennifer Quigley (2002). Around Brockport. Arcadia Publishing, New York. p. 113.
  9. Niagara Frontier Publications event listing https://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2019/05/30/137332/gamma-sigma-fraternity-international-anniversary-this-fall
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