[nyapbp]

Pi Beta Phi was founded in 1867 in Monmouth, Illinois. The second chapter was at Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The Mississippi River separated the two states, Illinois and Iowa. While there are bridges across the river today, it was much more difficult back then.

In 1891, the chapter at Sophie Newcomb, the coordinate of Tulane, was chartered. Two years later, in 1893, the chapter at Stanford University was chartered. Stanford open in 1891. The first eastern chapter was Vermont Alpha at Middlebury College. It was chartered in 1893. Chapters at Syracuse and Boston College followed in 1896.