Founding History
Zeta Tau Alpha was founded October 15, 1898, by nine women at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia.
Only 14-15 years of age, these young women desired permanence to their friendships and hoped to perpetuate their sisterhood long after
college.
Though dedicated to the formation of a Greek-letter group, the band of nine delayed selecting a formal name. A temporary name of "???" was taken when, as legend has it, a member of another group met with the Founders. Raising her eyebrows and forming her fingers in the shape of a question mark, she asked, "Who are you?" In unison, the group answered "Yes, Who? Who? Who?" Thus, the group came to be known as "???" while they sought an appropriate Greek name and symbols.
During this time, the group received valuable assistance from two of the members’ brothers - Maud’s brother, Plummer Jones, and Frances Yancey Smith's brother, Giles Mebane Smith. Both were students at the College of William and Mary, members of men’s Greek-letter organizations and knowledgeable of Greek lore.
After a year of careful contemplation, the group chose the formal name, the patron goddess and the badge.
Founders of Zeta Tau Alpha
Maude Jones Horner
Della Lewis Hundley
Alice Bland Coleman
Mary Campbell Jones Batte
Alice Grey Welsh
Ethel Coleman Van Name
Helen Mae Crafford
Francis Yancey Smith
Ruby Leigh Orgain
The Above Photo is the first official photograph, the Mystifying Picture, taken of the nine founders and their first three pledges in 1899. The picture was often thought to be a forgotten ritual of the fraternity, but it was later discovered that this picture was meant to "Mystify the Normal" through its publication in The Normal Light (the school annual).