Beta Theta Pi - University of Kansas

AlphA Nu's letter An Alumni Publication of Beta Theta Pi at the University of Kansas ~ Summer 2014 FeAtures: Alpha Nu Excels on Campus 2 Executive Officers 3 Congratulations, Graduates 4-5 Alumni Update 5-6 t he Usher Mansion has been a part of Alpha Nu since 1913, and one of the most constant pieces in the chapter's history. It was built in 1872-73 by John Palmer Usher as a family home. The home was built at 1425 Tennessee Street and was structured somewhat as a fortress. John was a circuit- riding lawyer moving from Indiana who had worked within the political circuit until after Lincoln's death. After the civil war, his job moved him to Kansas with the Pacific Railroad. John's wife, Margaret, was afraid of the tornados she had heard about in Kansas. So, according to The Times, the home was built with walls of 18-inch thick limestone. The house featured an eastern Italian villa design, which included a small number of large rooms, one bathroom, and one sleeping porch. The house also featured one main entrance and staircase. The interior of the home was black walnut wood, and in total cost $30,000. When John Palmer Usher died in 1889, his wife continued to live in the home with their two sons, John and Sam. The boys were both lively, and they lived in the house until their mother's death at the age of 93 in 1911. The house was put up for sale the following year. Alpha Nu's original home on 1537 Tennessee, which had been rented by Beta since 1894, was in dire need of repair. The brothers appointed a committee to find a suitable house to keep up with the fraternities' main competitors: Phi Delt, Phi Gam, Phi Psi, and Sigma Nu. The committee's goal in 1911 was to begin a campaign to build a new house on the property bought by the house in 1907. The brothers' hope was to build a house for $20,000, and in 1912 when the Usher house came on the market the campaign had acquired $10,000. With the campaign not getting enough money to move forward with the original building plans the committee decided to buy the old Usher house and renovate it. The grounds were in dire need of repair, and the home was not wired for electricity so the cost was low. The entire property was sold for $15,000, and Beta ended up only paying $9,000 for the house and frontage on Tennessee Street. Slowly Beta repaired and took over the home until completely moving in by 1914. The home was renovated to host new study rooms, an enlarged living room, billiard room, and an attic sleeping room. In 1914, Alpha Nus reported to the Jayhawker: "Thanks to the loyal interest of alumni, Alpha Nu occupies the best fraternity house in Lawrence, one in keeping with the dignity of the fraternity and the things for which it stands. The house is massive in structure, beautiful in architecture, and perfect in convenience and furnishings…." In 1918, the Beta Distinct Chief approvingly wrote headquarters that "by remodeling the house they have made an ideal one for chapter purposes." The uniqueness of the Usher Mansion and history will forever be a constant in Alpha Nu's history. the history of the usher Mansion How the Home Came to Be a Piece of Alpha Nu An excerpt from The Kansas Betas, 1873-1973 John Palmer Usher, the builder and original owner of the home. The Usher Mansion in 1913 shortly after the first Beta men moved in. A photo of the living room in 1925. The home keeps its charm in the winter of 1975.

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