The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR or DAR) is a non-profit,

non-political, volunteer women’s service organization comprising 3,000 chapters and over

185,000 members.

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Sumter's Home Chapter was chartered April 17, 1900, growing from the 12 charter

members to the present membership of over 130 members. With Edith DeLorme

as regent, our chapter was one of the earliest in the state. During the first 25

years, the chapter met all its obligations to state and national projects. In May

1939, Julia Lester Dillon, conservationist and chapter Daughter, planted a

“Memorial Acre” of 1,100 pines in the name of the chapter. The acre of pines

was part of a nationwide reforestation effort at the time. Located at Water

Works Park, the forest memorialized Major William Harrison Saunders, a

young pilot who lost his life in training at Shaw Field.

 

In 1948, chapter members petitioned the state executive board to preserve

Fort Watson and with the help of Senator Nash, this caused Fort Watson on

the Santee to be preserved and dedicated. The chapter requested that Sumter

County form an historical commission. In March 1949, the Sumter County

Historical Commission, with five members, came into being. Sumter's Home

Chapter NSDAR contributed to the purchase of the Rembrandt-Peale portrait of General

Thomas Sumter which hangs in the Williams Brice Museum. In 1975, with 57

members, Sumter's Home Chapter NSDAR celebrated its 75th birthday by becoming an official

bicentennial chapter in the DAR commemoration of the bicentennial of our nation.

 

From the beginning to the present, service to Tamassee DAR School has been demonstrated through gifts and

donations to the thrift store, bequests, honorariums, a memorial acre in the name of Kate Moses, support of the Tamassee Club, and contributions to the dining hall and carillon. In the year 2000, the chapter celebrated its centennial year with participation in the Iris Parade, a Centennial Tea, the marking of the grave of the organizing regent, Edith DeLorme, a celebration in the Thomas Sumter Historical Park, and burial of a time capsule at the Sumter County Court House, to name only a few of the activities. The chapter continues to be one of the most viable chapters in the state. For the first time in its history, a chapter member, Sheila Hey Davis Carr, served as the South Carolina State Regent (2003-2006), for which Sumter's Home Chapter NSDAR Daughters are very proud.