Holland DAR Chapter commemorates bicentennial of Santa Fe Trail

HOLLAND — The Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution commemorated the bicentennial of the Santa Fe Trail on Thursday, Aug. 11.

"Interviews" were held with Mary Donoho, the first known white woman to travel the Santa Fe Trail; Captain William Becknell, who pioneered and led the first caravan; Susan Shelby Magoffin, who documented her experience in her diary; Marion Russell, who traveled the trail five times; and Mrs. W.E. Stanley, who was in the Kansas DAR State Regent and completed remembrance markers in 1906.

The skit included several members of the Holland DAR Chapter.

The Santa Fe Trail was pioneered in 1821 by Becknell as a route for mercantile commerce. The trail established trade between Franklin, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, covering roughly 800-1,200 miles, depending on routes taken.

Eventually, women began traveling with merchant husbands, and young children traveled with pioneer parents. The women kept diaries and books. The trail was replaced by the railroad in 1880.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote historic preservation, education and patriotism. Its members are descended from the patriots who won independence during the Revolutionary War. The DAR has more than 177,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Holland DAR commemorates bicentennial of Santa Fe Trail