This view shows Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts, the site of Tri Delta's founding.
After Eleanor and Sarah agreed to establish a fraternity together, they found that there was much to do. The two met regularly to go over their plans for the organization. They worked together to create the organization and develop its rituals, traditions, and symbols, drawing on Sarah's wide-ranging knowledge of subjects like mythology, mysticism, astronomy, and ancient languages, as well as to draft a constitution. At last, on November 27, 1888, all was ready.
The next day, on the eve of Thanksgiving, Sarah and Eleanor met in the Philological Library of Boston University to officially commemorate their achievement. According to Sarah Ida Shaw, the two women embraced there and declared that Tri Delta had been founded.
Walking out of the college building toward Boston Common, Eleanor and Sarah passed the Park Street Church, contemplating all their work. Eleanor wondered aloud if they should swear an oath to Tri Delta. As Sarah later wrote, "There in the shadow of the old Park Street Church, with a bright new moon and three brilliant stars nearby...the two faithful friends clasped hands and said, 'In the presence of these myriads of witnesses, I swear eternal loyalty and fealty to Tri Delta.'"
