Founded in 1882, the Harvard Cooperative Society is one of the oldest true cooperative establishments in the United States. It has grown from 300 members at its inception to 11,400 at the present time.

In 1883, following the first full year of business, the "Coop" did $4,000 worth of business. The school year of 1935-1936 found the "Coop" doing $1,061,000 worth of business.

The landmarks in the Society's life of fifty-four years have been as follows:

(1) Three years after starting, the Harvard Corporation permitted it to use Dane Hall, where Lehman Hall now stands; (2) The Society was incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts in 1903; (3) In 1907, the Society bought Lyceum Hall which stood on the present site of the "Coop"; (4) In 1916, the Society opened a Branch Store opposite the Massachusetts Institute of Technology buildings.

Store Erected in 1925

(5) The present home of the Society was erected in 1925 and in 1926 another branch store was opened. That branch was at the Business School. (6) Next year, a new building will be ready for the Technology Store, which has been in rented quarters for twenty years.