Fast Facts

  • Founded: 1873 at Lewis School in Oxford, Mississippi.
  • Executive Offices: Columbus, Ohio
  • Symbols & Mascot: Anchor & Hannah
  • Colors: Bronze, Pink, and Blue
  • Flower: Cream Colored Rose

Founders

The trio grew up together in Kosciusko, Mississippi, attended the Lewis School in Oxford and founded Delta Gamma during a lonely Christmas holiday. Anna and Eva were first cousins and Anna and Mary shared the same birthday. Each of the three Founders was a woman of strong character and special talents.

Anna Boyd Ellington was born near Kosciusko, Mississippi, January 22, 1856. She attended school in Kosciusko, afterwards going with her friends, Mary Comfort and Eva Webb, to The Lewis School in Oxford. After leaving school she taught in the public schools of her state until her marriage to Mr. D.A. Ellington in 1882. She was a handsome brunette, but her greatest charm was that of mind and heart. She possessed a fine and strong personality, and an unusually bright mind with a marked sense of humor. She died August 12, 1907, at the age of 51.


Eva Webb Dodd was born July 5, 1855, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, where she made her home throughout her life. At the age of eighteen, Eva Webb was a student at The Lewis School in Oxford, Mississippi, and while there with her two dear friends, organized Delta Gamma Fraternity. On October 12, 1875, Eva Webb married the Honorable S.L. Dodd, a prominent attorney of Kosciusko until his death in 1928. Mrs. Dodd was the mother of eight children. She was a devout and consecrated member of the Presbyterian Church and she lived the religion she professed. Mrs. Dodd died on January 28, 1934, at the age of 79.

Mary Comfort Leonard was born January 22, 1856, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, one of 13 children. After completing the first of her education in Kosciusko, she was sent to The Lewis School, Oxford, where she was a student for three years. While in Oxford, she met Charles H. Leonard, a student at the University of Mississippi. Mrs. Leonard was a guest at the Convention of 1909 (and several subsequent conventions), and enriched the spirit and understanding for all who came to know her. She lived to see compensating results of her teaching in public school, as well as her lifetime devotion to teaching a Bible class. Mary Comfort Leonard passed away August 4, 1940. Her memory will always be treasured by the hundreds of Delta Gammas who knew her personally.

DG @ UGA

University of Georgia is the first state-chartered university in the United States, dating back to January 27, 1785. Men's social groups arrived in 1866 and colonization of women's groups began in 1921. Delta Gamma's interest in colonization at the University of Georgia began in 1936. Yet, the timing was not right for university administration or Delta Gamma until 1967

In January 1967, several members of Delta Gamma Council came to Athens after the University invited DG to establish a colony and become the 18th national sorority on campus. A small introductory recruitment party was given on April 17 in the Chapel, and the main parties and membership selection were scheduled for May. Bids were extended at 1:00 in the morning on May 13, and later that day 25 women were pledged in the Lumpkin House Memorial Garden. The first meeting place was the Bloomfield Terrace Apartments, where the 25 charter members formed the bonds of friendship and sisterhood that characterize Delta Gammas everywhere.

In the fall of 1967, land was purchased on South Milledge Avenue for the building of the new chapter house. On February 18, 1968, the colony received her charter and finally became a chapter at a weekend of installation festivities attended by several executive officers. Thirty-one women were initiated prior to a banquet in honor of their installation. The theme of the installation banquet, "The Arch and the Anchor," further unified the University of Georgia and Delta Gamma through their symbols.

On Sunday of that weekend, the ground-breaking ceremony for the new house took place; the chapter and town of Athens watched with great interest over the next several months as the house progressed. It was finally opened to the sisters on October 19, 1969, and was the feature house on "Good Morning America's" 1983 show about sorority recruitment.

Recently, the Delta Gamma house has experienced renovations to give a more up to date appearance. The entire first floor, including the foyer, Founders room, chapter room, and dining hall, was redecorated during the summer of 2002. In the summer of 2006 the front facade was completely renovated, including the addition of a new study room.