{"id":510,"date":"2024-04-26T20:11:54","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T20:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/?p=510"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:43:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T14:43:43","slug":"union-lit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/union-lit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Local Societies and the Union Literary Society House (1890–1955)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Union Literary Society House as it appears in the Michigan State College Properties Survey of 1934. This undated photo was taken prior to the addition of a wraparound porch, which was built in spring 1907. Image source: MSU Physical Plant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the Michigan Agricultural College\u2019s primary duties beyond the teaching of scientific agriculture was to prepare young men (and, later, women) for leadership positions in their home communities. An important part of this goal was practice in public speaking, debate, and writing skills. As a result, students organized societies that held regular forums for discussions, essays, and lectures. In the 1860s, each class year formed its own lyceum, as they were known; their names ranged from the grandiloquent to the droll: The Cincinnatus Lyceum, The Excelsior Lyceum, The Sons of Demeter\u2026 and The Stoical Pen Yanker\u2019s Society, or S.P.Y.S.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in 1872, the first Greek-letter \u201csecret\u201d society was installed as the Iota chapter of Delta Tau Delta. The fraternity was exclusive in membership and emphasized brotherhood and loyalty, but otherwise its gatherings were not significantly different from those of a lyceum. However that added camaraderie was quite an attraction; another national fraternity chapter was chartered in the following year, and the class-year societies were soon \u201ceclipsed\u201d in attendance.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, twelve men from the classes of \u201976, \u201977, \u201978, and \u201979 founded the Union Literary Society on March 31, 1876. They asked President T. C. Abbot<\/a> and Professor George Thompson Fairchild (Professor of English 1866\u20131879, acting President \u201972\u2013\u201973) for a faculty charter; the professors \u201curged them to invite all non-fraternity men, in order to preserve social equality in a growing college.\u201d The student leaders refused, wanting to include only \u201cthe best men\u201d so better to compete with other societies, including the fraternities.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an aside, this competitiveness\u2014chiefly in literary oratory\u2014should not be taken lightly from our modern perspective: to wit, Delta Tau Delta was itself formed in response to a rigged vote in an oratory competition at Bethany College, (West) Virginia, in 1858. And at M.A.C. in 1895, a student gunning for the national competition \u201cleft school for a few days to secure expert assistance.\u201d When he returned and was brought before the faculty on truancy charges, he responded that \u201chis duty to the society [was] paramount to his duty to the college.\u201d He was suspended for the remaining two weeks of the fall term. His fellow seniors, believing he had been expelled, protested to the faculty. For their efforts in advocacy\u2014some might have said insurgency\u2014many were dismissed from the College, leaving the class of \u201996 \u201ca broken class.\u201d4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Union Literary Society received its faculty charter in 1877 and over the next four decades was followed by more than a score of local men\u2019s and women\u2019s societies, with names like Eclectic, Hesperian, Feronian, Columbian, Olympic, Themian, Sororian, and Eunomian. These societies were usually assigned a room (or shared a room) in one of the college buildings, and Union Lit was no exception: the society at first met in a classroom in College Hall<\/a>, then acquired space in the basement of the first Wells Hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unique among the societies however, U.L.S. was the only one ever to have its own building on campus when it built the Union Literary Society Hall just west of Wells Hall in 1890. Its architect was F. S. Robinson of Grand Rapids, who \u201cwas at one time a student at the college.\u201d Construction was supervised by Professor Rolla Carpenter<\/a>. After Feronian, the first local society for women, was chartered in 1891, U.L.S. offered their hall for Feronian meetings as well. Though it looked much like a house and was often referred to as such, it only contained rooms for meetings and recreation, and was never used as a residence.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Edwyn Bowd\u2019s design for Union Literary Society House renovation, 1910. Image source: Union Lit Speculum 5(1), 1 Feb 1910, p. 6, online at MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That said, the house did host the occasional overnight guest, since in 1910 Union Lit constructed a major renovation which removed first floor partitions to create a large ballroom, and raised the roof to increase the space on the second floor, adding a library and rooms in which visiting alumni could stay. College Architect Edwyn Bowd<\/a> designed the changes, which cost about $3,500. U.L.S. charter member William K. Prudden (M.A.C. \u201978), a Lansing businessman whose Prudden Wheel Company was a major supplier to the burgeoning automotive industry, contributed matching funds to active members\u2019 donations, and arranged a loan for the balance.6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years later, U.L.S. asked permission to further expand the building to add living accommodations, but the Board of Agriculture refused, its special committee claiming (without specific citation) that \u201crecords were found which favored the erection on the campus of buildings by literary societies for literary purposes only.\u201d Another group, the Delphic Literary Society, asked to build on campus at the same time and were also denied by the Board, which felt it would be unfair to the eight societies<\/a> that already owned or rented buildings off campus.7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Union Literary Society House in 1925, two years before its purchase by the College, with wraparound porch (added 1907) and the raised roofline of Bowd\u2019s 1910 addition. Rampant ivy obscures much of the structure, including the three east-facing windows of the second floor library. Image source: Wolverine<\/a> (1925), p. 302.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, the societies evolved to include many of the social attributes of fraternities and sororities. Union Lit\u2019s first president later wrote of their hall, \u201cUnder the mollifying influences of a pleasant room\u2026 our austere bearing broke. Music crept in (we had almost none at first) then came the ladies and later the banquets.\u201d Ultimately, those literary societies that did not fade away came to be affiliated with national fraternities and sororities; many of today\u2019s chapters at M.S.U. can trace their origins back to local societies. Union Lit merged into the Ae-Theon Society in 1933, which two years later became a chapter of Delta Chi.8<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Former Union Lit building in use by the English department, undated photo circa 1935. The wraparound porch from 1907 has been replaced by a small stoop with curved roofline. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span> which notes that a caption on the back of the original photo is mistaken in calling this a \u201cFaculty Row House.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The College leased their on-campus hall in 1925 for use by the Department of English, and purchased it two years later. By then the Union Literary Society had already been living off campus for several years, in a series of rental properties including the Collingwood house<\/a> on Sunset Lane. When English moved to Morrill Hall<\/a> in 1937, the Department of Foreign Language made its home in the former U.L.S. hall. It briefly became the Journalism building in 1950, but only saw occasional use for classes after that. In November 1953, it was announced that it would be “first to be razed” to make way for the new Library building (now Main Library, West Wing), but instead it was used as a construction office during the build. The old Union Lit house, left standing approximately between the library’s south entrance and loading dock, finally came down in July 1955; its cornerstone and its contents were to be placed in the M.S.U. Museum<\/a><\/span>.9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more about the evolution of local societies into fraternities and sororities in the early twentieth century, and the controversy that accompanied their off-campus migration, see\u00a0The Society Houses<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

  1. Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a0205. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a0131. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  3. Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a0130\u2013132. Wolverine<\/a> (1907), p.\u00a089. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  4. Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a0186\u2013187. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  5. 29th\u00a0AR<\/a>\u00a0(1890), pp.\u00a054\u201355.\u00a0MAC Record<\/a>, 1(22), 16\u00a0Jun\u00a01896, p.\u00a04. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  6. Union Lit Speculum, 5(1), 1\u00a0Feb\u00a01910, pp.\u00a01\u20132. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  7. Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a0205.\u00a0Lautner<\/a>, p.\u00a061. 29th\u00a0AR<\/a>, pp.\u00a054\u201355.\u00a0Minutes<\/a>, 19\u00a0May\u00a01915, p.\u00a0202. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  8. Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a0131.\u00a0MSC Record<\/a>, 39(6), Feb\u00a01934, p.\u00a012.\u00a0LCD<\/a>\u00a0(1933), p.\u00a0472. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  9. MSC Record<\/a>, 31(1), 21\u00a0Sep\u00a01925, p.\u00a05.\u00a0LSJ<\/a>, 30\u00a0Nov\u00a01953, p.\u00a013; 6 Jul 1955, p.\u00a016. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    One of the Michigan Agricultural College\u2019s primary duties beyond the teaching of scientific agriculture was to prepare young men (and, later, women) for leadership positions in their home communities. An important part of this goal was practice in public speaking, debate, and writing skills. As a result, students organized societies that held regular forums for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a0205.\",\"id\":\"601e4493-4c94-49cb-b551-40354f560754\"},{\"content\":\"Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a0131.\",\"id\":\"7f60b428-292b-450f-b0f7-9dff910ad584\"},{\"content\":\"Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a0130\u2013132. Wolverine<\/a> (1907), p.\u00a089.\",\"id\":\"6e9a84f2-2a99-42de-a353-d491babdf090\"},{\"content\":\"Kuhn<\/a>, pp.\u00a0186\u2013187.\",\"id\":\"4f7c5a1c-4c6a-417d-b0ac-606a07e9ed1c\"},{\"content\":\"29th\u00a0AR<\/a>\u00a0(1890), pp.\u00a054\u201355.\u00a0MAC Record<\/a>, 1(22), 16\u00a0Jun\u00a01896, p.\u00a04.\",\"id\":\"15f74aae-ac3b-4e39-8048-60711123fe79\"},{\"content\":\"Union Lit Speculum, 5(1), 1\u00a0Feb\u00a01910, pp.\u00a01\u20132.\",\"id\":\"6c9ef6c4-bad2-420a-9ba2-4e9ae08e5948\"},{\"content\":\"Beal<\/a>, p.\u00a0205.\u00a0Lautner<\/a>, p.\u00a061. 29th\u00a0AR<\/a>, pp.\u00a054\u201355.\u00a0Minutes<\/a>, 19\u00a0May\u00a01915, p.\u00a0202.\",\"id\":\"f21ea6f8-2c86-4674-84bb-687c1712af3a\"},{\"content\":\"Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a0131.\u00a0MSC Record<\/a>, 39(6), Feb\u00a01934, p.\u00a012.\u00a0LCD<\/a>\u00a0(1933), p.\u00a0472.\",\"id\":\"08890863-7437-4b86-bd08-1ae4b3f970fe\"},{\"content\":\"MSC Record<\/a>, 31(1), 21\u00a0Sep\u00a01925, p.\u00a05.\u00a0LSJ<\/a>, 30\u00a0Nov\u00a01953, p.\u00a013; 6 Jul 1955, p.\u00a016.\",\"id\":\"d58c8995-bd8b-44ff-a4a4-8fdade0b892a\"}]"},"categories":[27,25,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-m-a-c-buildings","category-m-a-c-people","category-the-societies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5345,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510\/revisions\/5345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}