Alleghany Chapter helped celebrate the 250th Anniversary of Preston’s Smithfield on July 27, 2024

The project to raise funds for the interpretive building was Ms Turbyfill’s state project and she dedicated the building site.
2019-2022 State Regent’s project comes to fruitian. Smithfield Bd Chmn Peggy Fanney; Virginia DAR Honorary State Regent LeAnn Turbyfill; Smithfield Bd Representative Laura Wedin; Joann Sutphin, State Chairman of Turbyfill Regent’s Project.
L to R: Karen Finch, Honorary Alleghany Chapter Regent; Harriet Tuck, Alleghany Secretary; LeAnn Turbyfill, Vice President General; Dot Cupp, Alleghany Historian; Becky Coffee new Alleghany member; Diane Catley, Alleghany Registrar; Joann Sutphin, Alleghany Honorary Regent; Courtney Sutphin, Alleghany Chapter membership pending.
Almost 20 Daughters from 4 chapters and 2 states attended the groundbreaking ceremony
Smithfield’s Director, Michael Hudson, thanks the Virginia DAR for all its support and help in preservation of Smithfield at the Groundbreaking ceremony.
Local congresional representative made remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony.

ALLEGHANY CHAPTER HONORED OUTSTANDING MEMBERS OF THE VIRGINIA TECH CORPS OF CADETS

Gold Awards to Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets 2024
Left to Right: VPI Cadet Alexandar Ashford; Air Force Cadet Vanessa Barsoom; Alleghany Chapter Vice Regent Vicki Stec; Army Cadet Paige Crawford; Navy Cadet Lesly Molualisi

DAR DAY OF SERVICE – 2023

Our Day of Service included several types of activities–We cleaned windows and swept floors in the old Tavern, we cleared brush and vines growing over colonial structures, we cleaned debris from along the New River. For more pictures of how hard we worked, check out our photo gallery on this site.

Four Chapters cooperated to clean the site: Alleghany Chapter, Goerge Pearis Chapter, Count Pulaski Chapter, Floyd Courthouse Chapter. Three HODARS helped with the power saws!
The Ingles Tavern Buildings have strong structures but are in need of TLC. The site along the New River was beautiful and peaceful on this fall day.
This unpaved section of the old Wilderness Road follows the historic trail. At places the ruts left by hundreds of wagon wheels can still be seen.

CONSTITUTION WEEK 2023

The Lyric Theater did a public service announcement for Constitution Week
16 Copies of the US Constitution left in Free Little Libraries around town

Laying Wreaths at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery

wreaths at SWVAVC
Five of the nine members of Alleghany Chapter who helped place wreaths at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery
wreaths
Two of the Alleghany members who helped lay wreaths at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery
Three members of Alleghany Chapter and one HODAR who placed wreaths at the Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery

Holiday Gathering

reader's theater
Our Holiday gathering featured members presenting a reader’s theater presentation of “A DAR Whodunnit”

Remembering active duty military personnel.

greeting cards for
Alleghany members addressed almost 100 greeting cards for active duty military personnel

Supporting Preservation and Restoration of Historic sites

New Alleghany Regent, Debbie Haught, at the Wilderness Road Museum during the Newbern, VA Fall Festival
Harriet Williams and Diane Catley enjoy the fall sunshine at Wilderness Road Regional Museum during the Fall Festival of Newbern, VA.

Alleghany Chapter members participated in Veterans Day activities.

gifts for Veterans
Alleghany members prepared more than 60 “goody” bags as gifts for local veterans in 5 assisted living facilities.
Chapter representatives at the Christiansburg High School Veteran’s Day observance
Radford Veterans
Past Regent of Alleghany Chapter, Karen Finch, spoke to veterans at an assisted living facility in Radford, VA

National Day of Service, 2022

Day of Service
For 2022 National Day of Service, members of Alleghany and Gen. William Campbell Chapters cleaned gravestones in Westview Cemetery, Radford, VA

Constitution Week September 17-23, 2022

Local businesses helped us celebrate Constitution Week 2022.

Constitution Week September 17-23, 2021

Alleghany Chapter Officers receive the official Proclamation of Constitution Week from Christiansburg Mayor, Mike Barber.

On Flag Day, June 14, 2021, members of Alleghany Chapter placed thirteen flags on the graves of 13 Revolutionary War Patriots in 8 different cemeteries of Montgomery County.

Constitution Week September 17-23, 2020

Alleghany Chapter Officers receive the official Proclamation from Blacksburg Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith.

Proclamation of Constitution Week for Blacksburg, Virginia.

National Day of Service

NSDAR National Day of Service is held on or near October 11 each year to commemorate the founding of our organization on October 11, 1890. In 2019, Alleghany Chapter, NSDAR chose to work on the restoration of a cemetery in our area. The cemetery chosen by our Chairman of American History, April Martin Danner, is the McDonald Family Cemetery. Joseph McDonald, and his wife Elizabeth Ogle McDonald, were some of the earliest settlers in our area. He fought in Lord Dunsmore’s War, the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War. He was also the first follower of John Wesley’s teachings in our region and the first Methodist Camp Meeting in the Blacksburg, Virginia area was held on the McDonald Farm. (There are more pictures of our Day of Service project in our Photo Gallery.)

Some of Joseph’s descendants still live near the family cemetery but they are not physically able to maintain the site. This picture is of the entrance to the cemetery before April Martin Danner cut a path to the gate so the rest of our workers could find the gate!
Graves of Joseph and Elizabeth after we had worked for about 30 minutes to remove some of the brush surrounding them. We uncovered and cleaned graves of four family members and one grave marked only with a small black stone, no inscription.
The graves after 8 of us had worked approximately 2 hours.
After Janice Fagan spent over 2 hours cleaning the stones carefully with historian-approved materials and techniques, It was possible to read
“JO2EPH MAcDONALD
4 – 4    1722
             1809
A CHRI2TIAN GENTELMAN
AND 2OLDIER IN COL
. AND REV. WAR2
We found it interesting that the “s” was reversed each time it occurred. Here we have used a “2′ to represent the “backward” letter.
Elizabeth’s tombstone reads:
ELIZABETH OGLE MAcDONALD
18 – 6 – 1726
                1795
OF NOBLE BIRTH AND THE PIONEERS
GENUINE HELPMEET.

We hope to write a proposal for a historic preservation grant from NSDAR to repair the stones and will search for someone looking for an Eagle Scout project to complete what we could not do in the way of removing brambles and weeds.

Constitution Week

Constitution Week honors the anniversary of the US Constitution. In 2019, Alleghany Chapter, NSDAR and Floyd Courthouse Chapter, NSDAR cooperated with the Christiansburg, Virginia Library to present a special program about the 100th Anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.

The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1919; it went into effect in 1920 after Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it. Mississippi was the last state to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1980.

Our special guest was Ms. Betsy Ely, who portrays Mrs. Edith Wilson. The real Mrs. Wilson was from southwest Virginia.
Members of Floyd Courthouse Chapter, NSDAR provided the refreshments for attendees. Two people in the audience were from Botetourt County Chapter, NSDAR and they drove almost an hour each way to join us. We also entertained members of a scout troop.