Mace and Chain is a senior secret society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1956, it is the youngest of the "Ancient Eight," the college's most selective senior societies. Mace and Chain owns a clubhouse, or "tomb", on Trumbull Street and total assets of about $1 million.
Yale University junior Thornton Marshall founded Mace and Chain in 1956 after he failed to receive an invitation to join a secret student society.[1][2][3][4] Yale professor Robert Penn Warren gave Marshall advice on structuring the society as "something which is a little closer to reality and that can exist in the sunlight".[1][2] Thus, Marshall's goal was to create a senior society that would more representative of the campus community.[3] Marshall recruited six friends to join his new society.[1] The group met in an apartment on Wall Street (above George and Harry's restaurant, which is now 381 Temple Street) and rotated the society's leadership every week.[1]
Inactivity
Mace and Chain became inactive in the 1960s, not long after it was founded, largely after losing the lease on its on-campus apartment during a period of financial strain. With the loss of that space, the society’s routine functions appear to have ceased, including tapping new members and holding meetings, as it could no longer sustain its physical foothold or basic administration.[1][3][5]
The organization then remained dormant for decades. Available accounts describe it as effectively defunct throughout the 1970s and 1980s and into the early 1990s, with no documented activity or membership during that span..[6]
Revival
William Folberth
Thomas Haines
In 1993, Mace and Chain was revived by alumni members Tom Haines and William "Biff" Folberth.[1][2][7] The first class of the reformed society included five male and five female seniors.[1] Although sometimes called as a secret society, the reformed Mace and Chain's membership is listed annually in campus publications.[8][9] The society operates with “very dynamic bylaws,” allowing each delegation flexibility in shaping internal structures and practices.[3]
Reflecting its founders' discussions about chivalry, Mace and Chain's emblem depicts a medieval-style armored gauntlet grasping a spiked mace, rendered in a bold black-and-white outline with an ornamental pattern on the arm.[1]
Tomb
Mace and Chain is dubbed a "landed" society because it owns its meeting place, or "tomb".[14][15][16][17] When it was reestablished in 1993, the society initially occupied a condominium provided by alumni.[1][18] In 2001, the alumni gave the society an historic house on Trumbull Street in downtown New Haven.[1][5][15] As of 2025, the exact address of the Mace and Chain tomb has not been publicly disclosed.[19] However, the tomb is a late Colonial and early-Victorian style house that was in built in 1823 with salvaged moldings from Benedict Arnold's home.[20]
Knights Trust Inc.
50 Trumbull Street, owned by Knights Trust
Building Layout
Knights Trust Inc is the business name of Mace and Chain. The organization is incorporated in Connecticut and is recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a nonprofit entity exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3), with tax-exempt status granted in 1996. Knights Trust Inc functions as the legal and financial entity that holds and administers the assets associated with Mace and Chain, including managing investments and overseeing financial stewardship on behalf of the organization.[21]
The nonprofit currently owns 50 Trumbull Street, New Haven.[22] The house is a two story colonial style single family home with a total of ten rooms, not including the attic and basement. Originally purchased for $450,000, as of 2025, it is appraised at $816,300.
According to publicly available IRS Form 990 filings, Knights Trust Inc reported total assets of about $1.05 million in its fiscal year ending June 2025, with no liabilities reported. In the fiscal year ending June 2024, the organization reported assets of about $997,000, again with no liabilities. These filings indicate that Knights Trust Inc maintains a modest annual operating budget funded primarily through contributions and investment income, while preserving a substantial base of long-term assets relative to its expenditures.[21]
Membership
Mace and Chain selects about 15 rising seniors each spring through Yale’s traditional tap night process.[15][23][24][25] The society was one of the earliest to adopt coeducational membership after its revival in 1993, with its first delegation including five men and five women.[1][5] Its members are chosen to reflect a wide range of interests and backgrounds.[3] Mace and Chain maintains a longstanding tradition of rotating student leadership on a weekly basis among its roughly members.[15] Alumni of Mace and Chain sustain long-term engagement with the society by organizing events and providing resources to current members, such as annual Christmas dinners at the Yale Club of New York, theater tickets, and catered gourmet meals for special occasions[3].
Kenny Agostino, U.S. Olympian
Notable members
John Miller, U.S. CongressmanTatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of John F. KennedyRobert Warren, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner
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