  right|thumb|tri-kap, view from front lawn looking west. kappa kappa kappa (tri-kap) is a local men's fraternity at dartmouth college in hanover, new hampshire. the fraternity was founded in 1842 and is the second-oldest fraternity at dartmouth college. tri-kap is the oldest local fraternity in the united states. it is located at 1 webster avenue, hanover, new hampshire. despite offers to establish additional branches at other institutions, the brotherhood of tri-kap has remained a single-school institution for the duration of its history and is not a chapter of any national organization. today it is one of the many recognized dartmouth college greek organizations. ==history== ===early years=== dartmouth college was founded by eleazar wheelock in 1769 for "the education of the indian youth, english youth...and any others." fourteen years later the first student society came into existence, and student societies and the college have been intertwined ever since. for much of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, two societies vied for preeminence: the "socials" (officially the society of social friends, est. 1783) and the "fraters" (the united fraternity, est. 1786). by 1815, half of the college were members, and a fierce competition existed between the two in order to attract the finest students. in 1842, a dispute arose within the fraters regarding a vote on the organization's leadership. the fracture resulted in the formation of psi upsilon, by those who supported john tyler in the contest, and kappa kappa kappa, by those who supported harrison hobart. ===the society=== tri-kap was founded on july 13, 1842, by harrison carroll hobart and two of his closest companions, stephen gordon nash, and john dudley philbrick, all class of 1842. the society was based on the principles of democracy, loyalty to dartmouth, and equality of opportunity. originally a literary and debate society, tri-kap officially became a social society in 1905 and has remained so ever since. ===physical plants=== tri-kap was the first student society at dartmouth with its own meeting place, a building called the hall, which was originally located where the hopkins center for the arts stands today. opened o
1842_establishments_in_the_United_States Dartmouth_College_Greek_organizations Local_fraternities_and_sororities Student_societies_in_the_United_States