Welcome to the Hawkinsville Chapter, NSDAR

The Hawkinsville Chapter, NSDAR, was established in 1920 by Mrs. William Van Bell (Callie Mae Christie) and a group of other prominent Hawkinsville ladies. Mrs. Bell was very active in the social, patriotic, and religious life of the community, and she became the first regent of the Hawkinsville chapter, presiding over a group of thirty-nine charter members. A few years after the new chapter had been established, the daughters in Cochran, Georgia, were invited to join the Hawkinsville ladies in membership in the chapter.

The Hawkinsville Chapter, NSDAR, is named to honor a Revolutionary War hero, Colonel Benjamin Hawkins. As part of his service during the war years, he served on General Washington’s staff as interpreter of French. Additionally and more importantly, he served as Indian agent in Georgia and other areas of the south during colonial days. Colonel Hawkins was a graduate of Princeton University in New Jersey, and was well-loved by the Native Americans.

Two of the greatest achievements of the Hawkinsville Chapter, NSDAR, are as follows. The first was the compilation and publication in 1935 and a reprint in 1975 of a "History of Pulaski County, Georgia 1808 – 1935." The second was the compilation and publication of a two-volume edition of "History of Pulaski and Bleckley Counties 1808 – 1956" in 1957.

Also of great pride to the chapter is our support to the Kate Duncan Smith DAR school in Alabama. Additionally, the chapter sponsored a society of young patriots, the Uchee Trail Society, Children of the American Revolution. This group studied the history of Indians in Georgia and traced and marked the Uchee Indian Trail which runs through Cochran and near Hawkinsville.

The objectives of the Hawkinsville Chapter reflect those of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution:

Historic Preservation – To perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American Independence, and by the acquisition and protection of historical spots, by the erection of monuments, and encouraging historical research and publication of information related to the American Revolution.

Promotion of Education – From Washington’s farewell address, "To promote, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge," and last

Patriotic Endeavor – To cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of American freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, and to aid in securing for mankind all blessings of liberty.