Kappa Alpha Pi (secondary)

ΚΑΠ (Kappa Alpha Pi) was a high school fraternity founded in 1904 at Englewood High School in Chicago, Illinois.

Kappa Alpha Pi
ΚΑΠ
FoundedMarch 7, 1904 (1904-03-07)
Englewood High School, Chicago, IL
TypeHigh School Fraternity
ScopeNational
ColorsBlack and Gold
PublicationKappa Alpha Pi Journal

History

On June 11, 1902, nine men at Englewood High School in Chicago, Illinois formed a club known as the Harvard Athletic Club. The club was organized for the purpose of fostering sports in the school. They designed a club pin that was a crimson diamond with a white "H" in the middle. Soon after the formation of the Harvard Athletics Club, the men constructed a cinder track near the school where they trained for track events.

In the years prior to the formation of the Harvard Athletics Club, several high school fraternities had been founded in the Chicago area, and their popularity had grown tremendously. Omicron Kappa Pi was founded in 1893, and Beta Zeta Phi and Delta Sigma were founded in 1897. As a result of issues caused by the growing popularity of these organizations, the administration at Englewood gave numerous lectures warning against membership in fraternities, exemplifying the pitfalls and disgrace that came with membership in such organizations. The lectures against fraternity membership piqued the interest of the men of the Harvard Athletics Club, and they decided that they would like to become a fraternity. On December 31, 1903, they changed the name of their group to the Harvards, with the intention of becoming a fraternity.[1]

On March 7, 1904, the Harvards reorganized as Kappa Alpha Pi Fraternity. The men involved at the time of reorganization are credited as being the founders of Kappa Alpha Pi. Those men were Chauncey M. Briggs, Harold R. Cossitt, U. Lloyd Hendrick, Merwin O. Hopkins, Fred G. Lee, William H. McCord, H. Russell Sherwood, R. Clifford Sherwood, and George H. Wright.[2]

With the intention of becoming a national fraternity, Kappa Alpha Pi petitioned the State of Illinois for a charter, and it was granted, in November 1905. By 1930, Kappa Alpha Pi had more than 50 chapters across the United States, with the heaviest concentration in Illinois and California.[3]

As the institution of high school fraternities began to die off, most chapters of Kappa Alpha Pi were inactive by the 1960s.

Chapters
Chapter Institution Location Date Founded
Alpha Englewood High School Chicago, Illinois March 7, 1904
Epsilon Parker High School Chicago, Illinois November 7, 1907
Zeta† Muncie, Indiana 1908
Alpha Phi Lowell High School San Francisco, California February 12, 1909
Alpha Theta Santa Rosa, California April 1909
Phi Gamma Muncie, Indiana July 21, 1909
Xi Thornton Township High School Harvey, Illinois September 9, 1909
Phi Epsilon Oakland, California May 11, 1910
Phi Kappa Alameda, California May 27, 1910
Alpha Tau South High School Columbus, Ohio October 30, 1910
Sigma Phi Chico High School Chico, California 1911
Rho†† Central High School Kansas City, Missouri
Alpha Gamma Jefferson High School Portland, Oregon November 6, 1912
Gamma Beta Yonkers High School Yonkers, New York March 21, 1914
Zeta Central High School St. Joseph, Missouri October 10, 1915
Alpha Kappa Sacramento, California 1921
Alpha Beta Stockton, California February 22, 1926
Alpha Psi Los Angeles, California May 13, 1926
Alpha Xi Marysville, California October 3, 1926
Delta Phi Springfield, Illinois January 9, 1927
Gamma Theta Yonkers, New York January 23, 1927
Gamma Tau New York, New York January 23, 1927
  • † The original Zeta Chapter at Muncie, Indiana gave up its charter in 1909, and the Phi Gamma Chapter was founded soon after as a replacement.
  • †† Rho Chapter was moved to Southwest High School after World War I.

References
  1. A History of Kappa Alpha Pi National Fraternity. 1932. p 9.
  2. "Grand Master's Founders' Day Proclamation". The Kappa Alpha Pi Quarterly. p 2. 1939.
  3. Kappa Alpha Pi Journal. 1929. p1
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