Fortson's Signs, Symbols, and Secret Societies: Elihu Club

For listeners of the Ninth House series looking to discover the real history behind the Elihu Club secret society....

The Elihu Club remains one of the most distinctive and purposefully quiet institutions within the landscape of Yale University. Unlike other senior societies that often lean into the macabre or the occult, Elihu was founded on principles of openness, merit, and a rejection of the more exclusionary practices of its predecessors. Established in 1903, it takes its name from Elihu Yale, the university’s namesake, yet its identity is rooted in the early 20th century desire to reform the social fabric of New Haven. The club’s history is a narrative of balancing tradition with a progressive impulse, maintaining a physical presence in an 18th century house while fostering an intellectual environment that challenged the rigid hierarchies of the Gilded Age.

To understand the Elihu Club, one must understand the social climate of Yale at the turn of the century. Secret societies like Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key held an absolute monopoly over the social and political life of the undergraduate body. However, their selection processes were often viewed as arbitrary or rooted purely in lineage and athletic prowess. The founders of Elihu sought to create a "non-secret" secret society, an organization that would be private in its proceedings but transparent in its existence and membership. They chose the house at 175 Elm Street, a pre-Revolutionary structure, to serve as their anchor. This choice was symbolic; by inhabiting one of the oldest buildings in New Haven, the club tied itself to the colonial history of the college while simultaneously proposing a new way forward for its students.