North American fraternity and sorority housing

[1] As fraternity membership was punishable by expulsion at many colleges at this time, the house was located deep in the woods.

The idea of substantial fraternity housing caught on quickly, but was accomplished with much greater ease in the North as southern college students had far less available money for construction.

The first chapter house built by a women's fraternity was the one Alpha Phi erected at Syracuse University in 1886.

[6] Many colleges eventually came to support fraternity and sorority housing as they allowed increased enrollment without the construction of costly dormitories.

The nature of this benefit varied between campuses as some houses were paid for entirely by alumni, some were rented, and some were built on land leased from the college.

"[10][11] Fraternity and sorority houses are typically owned either by a corporation of alumni, the sponsoring national organization, or the host college.

[13] Because of residential requirements, some college campuses and national chapter administrations also prohibit members of the opposite sex on certain floors of fraternity and sorority houses.