The Iota Chapter of Sigma Nu was founded by Benjamin Abrams, Luther Hill, John Powell, Thomas Luckey, and William Reynolds in 1879 at Howard College in Marion, Alabama. At the time it was the fifth fraternity established on Howard's campus.

                Even though Howard College administration banned fraternities in 1881, the Iota Chapter survived through undisclosed methods. In the early nineteen hundreds the Howard College administration allowed fraternities back on campus.