2223 Chew Street - Phi Sigma Sigma (Henrietta)

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1986 - present: Phi Sigma Sigma (ΦΣΣ)

The earliest reference we could find to this residence was in 1927, when a real estate agent named Harry A. Fritsch could be reached at the address. Through the 1940s and '50s, the home appears to have been a rental property populated by young couples. It was offered for sale in 1956. The College appears to have acquired it around 1960 and named it "Alumni House": over the years, alumni relations, development, church relations, and public relations used the building.

In 1972, the house became the office of the Education Department, and was known as "Education House" until the name was changed to "Margaret Henrietta" in honor of one of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg's daughters at the time of the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976. At that time, there were already discussions around having "Henrietta House" be repurposed as a student residence. 

It seems the first residents were a group of male students who immediately dubbed it the "Hen House." In the 1977-78 academic year, Henrietta became one of the "special interest" houses on campus, one which switched between male and female students each year. One year the theme was "campus beautification;" another year it was healthier living.

In 1986, after the somewhat controversial decision on the part of the administration to convert the special interest housing to sorority housing, the sisters of Phi Sigma Sigma moved in.

Visit Origins of Sororities at Muhlenberg to learn more.