The old front entrance became two narrow windows, and a new entrance was built in the middle of the two wings, as seen in the first photo. Then, in 1903, it was doubled in size with a new wing on the right side that matched the design of the original section. The Tomb was subsequently expanded over the years, starting with an addition to the rear in 1883. It featured a windowless, sandstone exterior that resembled an ancient Egyptian tomb, and was evidently designed by architect Alexander Jackson Davis, although other sources have credited New Haven architect Henry Austin with the design. Appropriately known as the Tomb, the original part of the building was completed in 1856, on the left side of this scene. Many of these rumors concern the interior of its meeting hall, which is said to contain, among other artifacts, the skulls of Martin Van Buren, Geronimo, and Pancho Villa. This impressive membership roll, along with the group’s secrecy, has undoubtedly played a major role in the various conspiracy theories and other rumors surrounding the society. Bush were also members, as was John Kerry, and other members have included a wide range of congressmen, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, business executives, and other prominent leaders. Alphonso Taft himself went on to have a successful career as Attorney General and Secretary of War during the Grant administration, and his far more famous son was also a member. Each year, a new group of seniors was initiated into the Skull and Bones, which over time came to include some of the nation’s most powerful political figures. The society was founded in 1832 by William Huntington Russell and Alphonso Taft – father of future president and Supreme Court chief justice William Howard Taft – and at the time it consisted of 14 Yale seniors.

There are plenty of secret societies on college campuses across the country, but perhaps none are as famous, or mysterious, as the Skull and Bones at Yale. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection. The Skull and Bones Tomb, on High Street on the campus of Yale University, around 1903-1912.

Yale skull and bones members