The Story of Clough Hall by Florence Jackson Clough

When Sherman and I drove to Culver-Stockton College for the Arts Festival in 1962, I asked President Helsabeck where the Sigma Kappa house was located. It was an old building, once the Music Building, small with poor wiring. We told President Helsabeck the building was a dangerous place to live and might catch on fire without warning. This led us to look for a more suitable place and location.

There was a farmhouse, President Helsabeck said, nearby overlooking the Mississippi River with walls 3’ deep on six acres of land. We contacted the owner. She was willing to sell and her price was $16,000. We signed a contract to buy it, went home to send payment, hoping the Beta Mu girls would like it. Some did, some didn’t, but this became their home for the future.

Nothing lasts forever, and the College was forced to demolish it. A second house was built to house 25 girls. In time, but it was subject to fire and became unsuitable for living. President Helsabeck named the building Clough Hall. We were pleased as well as surprised to have it on the six acres we gave the College. There were many happy memories for those who lived or had lived there. However, a new house was designed of red brick where faculty houses once stood. This red brick house corresponded with the other two sorority houses, Chi Omega and Alpha Xi Delta. This now forms “Sorority Park." Culver-Stockton assumed the mortgage and Sigma Kappa would have a share in its payment. Thus the problem of a permanent home for Beta Mu was solved and the name, Clough Hall, remained.

 

The Beta Mu Chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority was founded on April 18, 1947 at Culver-Stockton College.
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Memories of the first Clough Hall

"Our chapter house, Clough Hall, is a standing testament to the diversity of our long-standing sisterhood. Its unique characteristics exemplify the diverse group of women who are sisters in Sigma Kappa.

Each bedroom in Clough Hall has a unique name that sets it apart. From the single-occupant Dog Room (given to the high gpa senior – the “top dog”) to the obviously-named Blue, Window and Lavender Rooms, each room lends a special something to those who occupy it – from closet space to a beautiful view.

Bringing each of the individual facets together are the Bun Room, Scoop Room and Kitchen – informal sitting rooms where sisters and other friends gather to play cards, watch TV, and socialize. These rooms are representative of the mystic bond that binds all Sigma Kappas and holds them together.

As much as we cherish Clough Hall, we are eagerly anticipating the building of a new chapter house. Moving to a new house in the next few years will show how Sigma Kappa is always moving forward. It also shows our adaptability and eagerness for positive changes. Yet the fact that our much-used porch swing will travel to a new house with us shows our adherence to tradition and our deep-rooted values."


Our New Home

In the fall of 1993, Beta Mu temporarily left their home for the building of the new chapter house that stands today. This house was to match the other existing sororities and complete "Sorority Park" as it was known then. The triangle light was added to front of house and officially unveiled on October 22, 1994. After a two year wait, the sisters of Beta Mu were finally able to move into the second Clough Hall on January 30, 1995 and have been calling it home ever since.

The Beta Mu house today has a total of fourteen bedrooms, carrying on the tradition of the Window Room and the Top Dog Room (now known as the President's Suite). Within the house is also a suite for our house mom, the Formal Parlor, the Bun Room, the Chapter Room, the Kitchen and a back patio with our porch-swing. Memories of the old Clough Hall still reside within these walls with many new memories added each day by the love of the sisters that call it home.

Beta Mu is still going strong and recently celebrated its 60th anniversary as a chapter of Sigma Kappa.


The Bun Room

The Formal Parlor