The United States has been blessed with the existence of fraternities since 1825, the year in which the Kappa Alpha Society was founded. However, the Kappa Alpha Society, as well as the four other societies to follow it were secret societies. It was not until 1834 when a non-secret society was formed, and that society was The Social Fraternity, later to be renamed to Delta Upsilon – our first non-secret fraternity.

Delta Upsilon was founded in Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts by 30 concerned students. ten sophomores and ten juniors of the college found ten of the best freshmen and organized a meeting for the 4^th of November, 1834. It was here, in the Freshman Recitation Room of Old West College that a decision was made, rules were changed and a new precedent was formed for all societies.

In a similar manner, the University of North Dakota maintained a solid Greek system since the first society was organized on 3 January 1913 – the current fraternity of Phi Delta Theta. As the university grew, so did the number of fraternities. Coming into the year of 1960, however, there was yet to be a non-secret fraternity on the campus of UND. It was here that Delta Upsilon International looked to colonize a chapter. The 1834 Colony was formed in 1960.

In 1961, The 1834 Colony petitioned for their charter as a chapter of Delta Upsilon. Fulfilling the requirements, fifty-eight gentlemen signed the charter on 9 December 1961, marking the creation of the only non-secret fraternity at the University of North Dakota.