Flat Hat Club
The Flat Hat Club or FHC Society was one of the first collegiate secret societies founded in the United States. It was founded at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia on November 11, 1750. The organization's initials stood for Latin words, although the specific words are unknown. They became known as the "Flat Hat Club," a name that may allude to the mortarboard caps now worn by all graduating students at the university's graduation ceremonies.
Campus lore states that several students, bitter at being rejected from consideration for membership to the FHC, started the Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1776. In a rejection of the secret Latinate name of the FHC, the PBK took Greek letters as their name, thus becoming the best-known Greek letter fraternity.
The FHC became inactive during the late eighteenth century but was revived at some point, operating until the early twentieth century. In the early 1900's, the student newspaper at William and Mary named itself the Flat Hat, although no connection is known to exist between the two institutions. Students revived FHC during the 1970s and is active today.
Members of the FHC reveal their membership at graduation by wearing struck medallions around their necks. In the early 20th century, members also revealed their membership in the Colonial Echo, the college's yearbook. The most famous member of the FHC is Thomas Jefferson. In correspondence, though, Jefferson noted that the FHC served "no useful object."