The Council Bluffs Chapter, NSDAR, was organized on June 26, 1897, only seven years after the NSDAR was organized and six years after the Iowa DAR was organized. The chapter was the fourth chapter in Iowa to be organized.  There were twelve charter members lead by Regent Isabel Patterson Entyre.  The chapter celebrated its 100^th birthday in June 1997.

In the early years of the chapter, Ms. Sophie Bushnell, who was a past Council Bluffs Regent and NSDAR Vice President General, was involved in the volunteer efforts for the Hospital Corps of Nurses who saw service during the Spanish-American war.  Former members Charity Babcock and Thelma Roe are registered at the Arlington Cemetery Memorial in the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA).

The following are excerpts from past chapter minutes:

October 31, 1901 - The yearbooks were presented, accepted by the Society and distributed to the members present. The price of 15 cents each being charged for the books. Mrs. Bushnell suggested that members let the hostess know when they are unable to attend meetings.

January 7, 1902 - Each member to be assessed twenty-five cents for Continental Hall fund.

October 10, 1902 - Chatting over refreshments the adjournment was at a late hour for timid women without escort.

September 28, 1906 - The discussion concerning an Iowa room in Constitutional Hall was continued. It was moved by Mrs. Bouford that the Chapter pledge itself to raise $100 by April 1st for the purpose of finishing a room in Continental Memorial Hall.

In March 1924, a bronze plaque was dedicated in Council Bluffs Bayliss Park to commemorate the thousands of pioneers who traveled through Kanesville - now Council Bluffs. On the opposite side of the boulder is a bronze bas relief depicting the pioneers with their covered wagons. This is the work of the Norwegian sculptor, Paul Pjelde, a student of the famous Lorado Taft.

The Council Bluffs Chapter established a C.A.R. Society in 1960.

Honored Daughters

The Council Bluffs Chapter celebrates the following honored Daughters:

Object Preservation

The Council Bluffs Chapter has a rich history of donating objects to the Iowa and National DAR.
	In 1918, Mrs. Sophie Bushnell, Past Honorary Vice President General,  presented the Iowa Society DAR with the beautiful State Regent’s pin in memory of her mother. This pin has been worn by all Iowa State Regents since that time.
Mrs. M.A. Tinley presented the Iowa Society DAR a gavel from the Council Bluffs Chapter with this interesting description "made of woods connected with the service of the Iowa Regiment." The wood of the handle is of native mahogany brought from the Philippines, the head is Texas mahogany from the Border Service, the long line of inlay is from the staff of a flag brought by a Belgian girl to greet the Iowa soldiers as they passed on their way to Germany. The short lines of inlay are part of a bracket from a castle on the Rhine, in which Iowa troops were stationed as a part of the Army of Occupation in WW II. The plate is from a shell exploded on the Iowa front in the Argonne.
A Chippendale side chair c. 1780 was donated to the Iowa Room that is located in Memorial Continental Hall in Washington, D.C. The chair is made of cherry wood and has a center splat of openwork with a shaped crest rail.  A worked brass inlay was used to ornament this piece. The chair was originally used in the Moravian Sisters Home at Bethlehem, PA, after the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Vera Saunders Peak presented this chair in honor of her mother, Mrs. C.G. Saunders, Iowa State Regent, 1926 - 1928, and a member of the Council Bluffs chapter.