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On January
1, 1912, Grinnell Chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution was officially organized under the direction of Mrs.
Anson Marston of Ames, State Regent. The nineteen prospective
members present thus became charter members of the chapter. Mrs.
Marston gave an address to the new members telling of the aims and
objectives of the National organization - historic, educational, and
patriotic - toward which the work of the chapter should be directed.
Officers were elected and installed. The members voted to name the
chapter "The Grinnell Chapter of the DAR," and chose to adopt blue
and white as the chapter's colors.
In the field of educational activities, the chapter became
interested in contributing to schools and colleges. After Dr.
Edward A. Steiner of Grinnell and Grinnell College gave a talk
before the group, they voted a gift of $24 to American International
College, Springfield, MA, toward the Steiner Scholarship Fund. An
annual contribution was sent to this college for several years, as
late as 1927. Other schools receiving gifts were Martha Berry
School in Georgia and Dorothy Sharp School. Martha Berry School is
now Berry College.
Annual contributions were made to the three DAR schools: Kate
Duncan Smith, Grant, Alabama; Tamassee, South Carolina; and
Crossnore in North Carolina. These schools are remembered each year
by a money gift or by boxes of clothing or both, which are of great
help to them.
 Historic markers were placed in 1914:
one for Grinnell's first building, a multipurpose building made of
trees felled for that purpose. This marker was dedicated by
DAR on December 12, 1914, and is located on Broad Street, 1/2 block
south of Highway 6.
Another marker was placed on the
Grinnell Memorial Stone located on the east side of the city park in
1916, facing the Grinnell
family home. The marker designates Joshua Bushnell Grinnell and
family as the founders of the town of Grinnell in 1854. It reads as
follows: This stone is placed opposite the site of the homestead of
Josiah Bushnell Grinnell who founded this city in 1854. This tablet
is affectionately dedicated to the memory of himself and family by
the Grinnell Chapter of the D.A.R. in the year of our Lord, 1916
(with a small DAR insignia). Two principles were established in
settling Grinnell: land was to be set aside for a college campus and
no liquor was ever to be served. Reverend Grinnell was a former
Congregational Minister in New York City and an abolitionist who
aided John Brown in maintaining an Underground Railroad.
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In 1937 "The Pioneer Family" statue was made by Robert
Neely and donated to the city of Grinnell by Grinnell
Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. The statue
is 12 ft. tall, made of cement, and consists of a father,
mother, and child. It has been placed in the Grinnell
Community Center and can be viewed by entering on Park
Street. It was rededicated by the Grinnell Chapter and now
has a plaque on the wall listing the statue's name, the
artist's name, and the Grinnell Chapter DAR. |
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| This marker,
placed in 1982 by the Grinnell Chapter of the Daughters of
The American Revolution, commemorates the 250th anniversary
of the birthday of George Washington.
The location of this marker is
near the entrance to the Mayflower Home, 616 Broad Street,
Grinnell, Iowa. |
This marker was placed on the property
of the Mayflower Home located at 616 Broad Street in Grinnell,
Iowa. It is a bronze tablet on a native boulder. It reads as
follows: "We the People" -- Bicentennial of the Constitution of the
U.S.A. September 17, 1987 Grinnell Chapter, DAR.
A headstone and marker were placed on the grave of one of our
charter members,
Miss Stella Ricker. Three Real Daughters, DAR members who were
the daughters of Revolutionary patriots, are buried in our county.
One of
them, Deborah Hays, is buried in Hazelwood Cemetery. On October 1924,
a marker was placed on the grave for Elizabeth Hahn, a Real Daughter, buried
in Chester Cemetery. In August 1928, the grave was
located and a marker placed on the grave of Mrs. Parizade Fisk Paine
on her father's (S.P. Squire's) lot. In 1934, a marker was placed for
Mary Ludwick, a Real Daughter buried at United Brethren Cemetery,
near Newberg.
Some years later the chapter learned of the grave of a Mormon child
in a small cemetery west of Grinnell. This grave was marked for Job
Welling, the son of Job and Frances Welling who walked across Iowa
in 1856, along the Mormon Trail, with the first company of handcarts
crossing the plains from Iowa City to Salt Lake City.
Twenty-six members in 1974-75 were charter members: Deliah Briggs
Breed, Martha Onthank Brown, Bessie Campbell, Pearl Cessna, Maud
Opal Cessna, Cleodora Hitchcock Grinnell, Grace Sue Hays, Rosa
Deborah Hays, Georgiana Holloway, Nelle Winifred Holloway, Helen
LaGrange, Blanche Lytle, Margaret Miller, Amy Noll, Alma Preston
Procter, Helen Augusta Procter, Mary Procter Ramsay, Grace Noll
Smith, Ethel Graves Yeager, and Estella Ellison Ricker.
The Grinnell Chapter
merged with the Montezuma Chapter effective February 2007. The
chapter name was voted to remain Grinnell Chapter as it had been
organized for a longer period of time. The Montezuma records have
been moved to Grinnell and are being stored with the Grinnell
Chapter records. It is hoped that members from both communities
will be able to work together in harmony for the benefit of NSDAR |
