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History
Old Federal Road Chapter NSDAR was organized
on February 3, 1984, by fourteen organizing members.
Before a DAR chapter was organized in Monroe County, local daughters were members of chapters in Camden, Evergreen, and Stockton, or held
at-large memberships.
Interest in forming a DAR chapter in Monroe County led to a meeting
at the home of Mrs. Harris R. Carter on January 12, 1984. The
organizational meeting of the Old Federal Chapter was held February
3, 1984, at the home of Mrs. Loxley L. Dees.
Officers were installed February 24, 1984, by Alabama State DAR Regent Mrs. James Lynch, during a special ceremony at Monroeville
Presbyterian Church. The organizing officers were: Regent Mrs. Loxley L. Dees, Vice Regent Mrs. William J. Andress Jr., Chaplain Mrs.
Carolyn Carter King, Recording Secretary Mrs. David Frost, Treasurer Mrs. Daniel R. Andress Jr., and Registrar Mrs. Harris R. Carter.
Mrs. Linda Andress Kennedy and Mrs. Thomas M. Stacey served as Pages.
The first regular meeting of Old Federal Road Chapter, NSDAR,was
held at the home of Mrs. William J. Andress Jr., on March 8, 1984. The secretary read the proposed by-laws. An additional thirteen
prospective members were accepted by the chapter. Old Federal Road
Chapter had thirty-seven members by September 1985. Today, we have
79 members.
Mrs. Margaret McCall Locklin suggested the name of Old Federal Road
for the chapter. The Old Federal Road enters Monroe County near Pine
Orchard, Alabama. In the Burnt Corn community, it divides and runs
across the center of Monroe County in a westerly direction. The
lower branch is used as the eastern boundary between Monroe and
Conecuh County. Originally no more than a path used by the Creek
Indians as a migration route, the Federal Road developed into a land
route between Washington County
in the
Mississippi Territory
and New
Orleans during the War of 1812.
The Old Federal Road was sometimes called "Three Chopped Way"
because the surveyors cut three blazes on trees to mark its course. Indian trouble plagued the area but for the Old Federal Road with
its forts, there would be no Alabama as we know it. Rivaled only by
the Natchez Trace, the Old Federal Road is second to none in
significance in Alabama history. As history shows, it was Alabama's
first improved highway.
Written by: Ethel
S. Andress and Linda Andress Kennedy.
July 1997
Chapter contact:
Dora Pelham
Webmaster:
nerowolf@cfl.rr.com
Revised:
12/19/08