The FarmHouse Fraternity was first established as a club by seven agricultural students at the University of Missouri in 1905. Most notable of the seven founders is D. Howard Doane, who is known as the father of the fraternity. It became a national organization in 1921 with an agricultural and rural interest. Rather than adopting a name with traditional Greek letter as common with most fraternities, this fraternity paid homage to their historical agricultural roots of being known as ‘the farmer’s house’, and has been proudly known as FarmHouse for over 100 years. Today, FarmHouse has over 48 chapters in the North American continent with over 30,000 lifetime members. Still to this day the fraternity is guided by historic principles crafted by their seven founding members. The FarmHouse mission is to create and nurture a community of brotherhood that empowers men to positively impact their communities and each other. Priding themselves on being non-secretive to non-members, the FarmHouse rituals are open to the public and guests. Most notably, the “Builder of Men Affirmation” which promotes a holistic message of the individual man and his community amongst men, has created generations of strong, community-oriented men.

The University of Idaho chapter of the FarmHouse Fraternity was originally established as a club by Dr. Duane LeTourneau in 1955. Dr. LeTourneau, a FarmHouse man himself at the University of Minnesota and felt compelled to put down FarmHouse roots at the U of I. He was the founder and advisor to the University of Idaho’s FarmHouse Fraternity from 1995 to 2010. After getting approval and recognition by the University of Idaho’s President in 1956, the club began petitioning for installation into the National Organization which was unanimously approved in 1957. On October 12, 1957, the Idaho FarmHouse Club was installed as an active Chapter of FarmHouse. From 1957 to 2020 U of I’s FarmHouse had steady membership and scholarship, upholding the mission and core of the Fraternity’s brotherhood values. Unfortunately, in 2020, FarmHouse reluctantly closed its Idaho Chapter amidst many challenges relating to COVID-19, not misconduct. However, the re-establishment of the UI FarmHouse Fraternity is agreed for Fall 2022, with improvements being made to moral and recruitment and the National Board is excited and eager to reignite the successful brotherhood with the FarmHouse National Organization and the University of Idaho.