The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Phi Kappa Psi Fountain

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Phi Kappa Psi Fountain, Washington and Jefferson College

Institution Name: Washington and Jefferson College
Original/Historic Place Name: Phi Kappa Psi Fountain
Location on Campus: Halfway up the pathway between the Founders' Gate and Old Main
Date(s) of Construction:

1909	original construction
2002	renovation

Designer:
Type of Place: Landscape site
Style: (Glossary)
Significance: education, history, landscape
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Function:

1909-present (2006)

memorial site (built as a memorial to the original founders of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity)

Narrative:
The Pennsylvania Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity was founded at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1852 by Charles Page Thomas Moore and William Henry Letterman. When the colleges merged, Phi Psi came to W&J in 1865. Located halfway up the path between the Founders' Gate and Old Main, the fountain was donated by Phi Kappa Psi in September of 1909. It was renovated in 2002 in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the fraternity.

Phi Kappa Psi consists of 81 chapters in the United States and has included more than 100,000 members in its 150-year history. Notable members of the fraternity include President Woodrow Wilson, General William Donovan (founder of the CIA), and author James Thurber.

References:

"The Archives: The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta." Online (2006). Washington College, Washington, PA. http://www.phigam.org/history/Sites/washington_pa.htm

Coleman, Helen Turnbull Waite. Banners in the Wilderness. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1956.

Dober, Lidsky, Craig, and Associates. Washington & Jefferson College: Campus plan 2001. [Belmont, MA: Dober, Lidsky, Craig, and Associates], 2001.

Donnelly, J. B. Venerable W & J at 200. Washington, PA: Washington & Jefferson College, 1980.

LaQuarta, Jack. Washington & Jefferson College Landscape Master Plan. Pittsburgh, PA: [s.n.], 1983.

W & J: The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of Washington & Jefferson College. Washington, PA: Washington & Jefferson College.

W & J Walker Volunteer Manual. Handbook. [Washington, PA: Washington & Jefferson College, n.d.].