Chapter History

Mrs. Elizabeth Gundrum On November 17, 1921, the Sacramento Chapter, NSDAR, was created with Elizabeth Gundrum (pictured) installed as the first Sacramento Chapter Regent.  

 

Following is a summary of some items the chapter has accomplished in the intervening ninety-plus years:

 

 

* 1922 Presented the USS California with three U.S. flags.

 

 
 

* 1922 Undertook the care of the grave of William Stephen Hamilton, son of Alexander Hamilton.

 

 
  * 1923 Placed a special marker, along with eleven Bay area chapters, at the Western Terminus of the Pony Express in Old Sacramento. Pony Express plaque
Land Park Sacramento DAR Memorial Grove * 1924 Established a DAR Memorial Grove in Land Park, Sacramento (pictured at left), by planting various memorial trees and trees obtained from the original thirteen colonies.   
 

* 1930 Placed a marker on the American River Bridge at 16th Street, Sacramento, in memory of Jedediah Strong Smith, the first American to reach California by an overland route.

 

 
 

* 1935 Chapter member, Winnifred Codman, persuaded the chapter to help an American Indian woman and her grandchild purchase a tent. Her concern about American Indians living in poverty ultimately resulted in the creation of the NSDAR American Indians Committee.

 

 
 

* 1955 Marked the headquarters of the Central Pacific Railroad builders, the "Big Four Building."

 

 
 

* 1975 Celebrated the Bicentennial of our Country.

 

 
  * 2006 Celebrated the chapter's 85th anniversary by raising funds to contribute one thousand dictionaries for Sacramento third graders in forty-five classes in fourteen area schools.  
Jensen Garden Plaque * 2008-2010 Dedicated a Pathway for the Blind at the Jensen Gardens in Fair Oaks, California. The pathway is filled with tactile and fragrant plants labeled with braille-coded plaques. Jensen Garden, Fair Oaks, California

 

 

William Stephen Hamilton grave

* 2010-2013 Revitalized the William Stephen Hamilton's gravesite (pictured to left), the son of Alexander Hamilton, in the Old Sacramento City Cemetery (pictured to right). Old Sacramento City Cemtery

 

 

Camp Pollock Sign

 

 

* 2014-16 The Sacramento Chapter, NSDAR, through the efforts of the chapter's Historic Preservation Committee, donated the signage to Camp Pollock which was dedicated on April 23, 2016. The camp was established by a community effort in 1922 for the Boy Scouts and is now open to the general public under the management of the Sacramento Valley Conservancy.

 
 

 We celebrated our chapter's 100th anniversary in November 2021. If you would like to join us on our next 100 year adventure, contact us for more information.  

All photos courtesy of chapter members and chapter archives.

 

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

California Society Daughters of the American Revolution