How Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, Earned Its Name
Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, serves the Edgefield and Saluda County areas of South Carolina. In 1768, the state moved from a county system to seven districts. The district name given this area was Old 96. It included most of the western portion of South Carolina. It existed as a district from July 1769 to December 1799.
During the chapter's organizational meeting on February 19, 1914, the South Carolina state regent recommended the name "Old 96 District Chapter" to honor the community's early history. It was voted on by the charter members by ballot. The chapter received its charter on April 27, 1914.
Chapter Beginnings
The Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, was organized at a local member's Edgefield home. The charter members attended with the state regent presiding during the meeting. During this meeting, the first chapter officers, including the chapter regent, were elected officers.
The chapter motto borrowed from Greek philosopher Plutarch: “It is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors,” the White Cherokee Rose was chosen as the chapter flower, and the chapter colors of blue and gold were officially selected during the second meeting.
Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, received the Lantern Chapter designation in recognition of the leadership provided in organizing two chapters through the transfer of five members, including the Organizing Regent, for each of the new chapters. Through this process, the new chapters also received this designation.
Chapter History Highlights
The first public ceremony of the society heralded the presentation of a large American Flag to the Edgefield School located at the corner of Church and Brooks Streets. A large crowd attended the celebration and joined in the singing of “America” at the close of the program.
DAR member founded the Edgefield Chapter of the American National Red Cross, and the community noted the industrious service of all Daughters in the official work of the Red Cross during World War I.
In July 1917, the Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, placed a marker twelve miles north of Edgefield on the old Keowee Indian Trail near the Little Stevens Creek Baptist Church.
Following World War I, the chapter placed a bronze marker on the Edgefield Court House Square in memory of the men who lost their lives in the war and also erected a monument on the site of the original Furman Theological Institute.
A marker in memory of Captain Lewis Cantelou, an American Revolutionary soldier, was placed at Eastview Cemetery, Edgefield, South Carolina in 1963.
In 1975, the chapter assisted the South Carolina State Society DAR placing a marker at the gravesite of Rebecca Calhoun Pickens Bacon, South Carolina State Regent (1892-1897) at the Willowbrook Cemetery, Edgefield, South Carolina. (Pictured below.)
In 1981, members donated a mantel to be placed in the South Carolina Room at the DAR Museum in Washington, D.C.
In May 1993, the DAR dedicated a United States Braille Flag to the citizens of Edgefield County with the support of the Honorable J. Strom Thurmond. The flag is on display at the Edgefield County Library.
On November 9, 2001, the chapter and members of his family conducted a grave marking and dedication ceremony for an American Revolutionary War Patriot, John Curry, at the Curry-Roper Cemetery in Edgefield County.
In June 2013, members of the Saluda County Historical Society applied for and received a matching grant in the historical preservation area from the Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, to complete the inside restoration of the Marsh-Johnson House in Saluda County. The chapter also made a gift to the Marsh-Johnson House of a framed and matted copy of the 1804 Boles map showing the location of the Marsh-Johnson House which is believed to have been built before the American Revolution.
In 2015, a DAR marker was placed at the gravesite of the first regent of Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, at the Willowbrook Cemetery, Edgefield, South Carolina.
The Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense in recording Vietnam Veteran Remembrances, publishing these in local newspapers, and presenting the Veterans with 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War pins and NSDAR certificates to the veterans who participated in the remembrance articles.
Each year the Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, sponsors the American History Essay Contest, the DAR Good Citizens Awards, and the Bronze Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Medals. Our programs reflect the interest and goals of the NSDAR.
Programs and Events
Continental Congress
State Conference
Old 96 District 1936.pdf
Word from the Past
The photo pictured above was published in the South Carolina State Society, NSDAR History Book, Volume III, in 1976. The Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, was instrumental in providing the grave marker for the first state regent for the South Carolina State Society, NSDAR.
The first history of the Old 96 District Chapter, NSDAR, was published in the South Carolina State Society, NSDAR, History Book, Volume I, in 1936. A copy of each of these books is available at the Camden Archives in Camden, South Carolina.