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Chapter, Daughters of the
American Revolution met
Thursday, September 9th, at the
lovely home of Mrs. Walter
Hobbs. Hostesses were Mrs.
Clark Braddy, Mrs. Hiram
Melvin and Mrs. Taft McCall.
The members arrived dressed
in colonial costumes.

     The members were invited to
the dining room which was de-
corated in patriotic colors. The
centerpiece on the table was
of red, white and blue flowers
with a blue candle in the mid-
dle. Red punch and many dain-
ties were served.

     The meeting was called to
order by the Regent, Miss
Aniese Cromartie. In the ab-
sence of the chaplain, Mrs. W.
R. Whitted, Mrs. W. D. Sher-
man led the ritual and prayer.
The Pledge of Allegiance to the
Flag and the American's Creed
were said followed by singing
"The Star Spangled Banner".

     During the business hour it
was decided to have a yard
sale on October 9th. The sale
will be held in front of the
home of Mrs. D. A. Hutchin-
son.

     Mrs. Clark Braddy intro-
duced her husband, J. Clark
Braddy, who was speaker for
the occasion. Mr. Braddy told
the members about the 1934
Bladen County Bicentennial.

     Here are Mr. Braddy's com-
ments:

     "Bladen County in 1934 cele-
brated its 200 (sic) birthday with a
lavish display of its heritage
put together by her many citi-
zens, probably some of you
here today. At least, some of
the family names seem to fit.

     Most of the information used
by me was gleened (sic) from the
four issues of The Bladen Jour-
nal published in April 1934,
especially for the occasion.
These four issues were Clark-
ton, Bladenboro and Elizabeth-
town and a countywide issue.

     Before we talk about 1934
we must see first what made it
possible. We must look at her
people and where they came
from, and why they stayed.
Also, we must take note of
what they were able to ac-
complish.

     The earliest settlers seem
to have been Quakers and
Scots. The Quakers were look-
ing for peace from persecution
because of their religious be-
liefs and the Scots for product-
ive land.

     These settlers generally
came up river through the port
of Brunswick, near Wilmington.
Because of swamps in South-
eastern North Carolina, the riv-
er was the link with the outside
world for supplies and per-
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     A little about the Quakers.
They were a simple folk who
centered their lives around
their religion. One of the earli-
er church or meeting houses
as they were called, was in
this community. Carver's
Creek Methodist Church is the
location of an early "meeting
house" and cemetary. (sic) Wooden
markers still exist in part of
the cemetary. (sic)

     It is at this point that we
see the point of the two "R's"
in the development of Bladen
County -- River and Religion.

     As the writers were putting
together the historical infor-
mation for the 1934 Bicenten-
nial, much note was made of
the river as a trade route.
So much so that there were
about 100 boat landings in Bla-
den County as it is today. Some
of them being for plantations
and others for villages along
the way. Some as close as a
quarter of a mile apart.

     The people of Bladen Coun-
ty have always been a religi-
ous oriented people. After the
Quakers abandoned their Meet-
ing House and moved on to Guil-
ford and other counties the
Methodist Churches were es-
tablished because of the preach-
ing of Bishop Asbury who toured
the area. Carvers Creek, Eliz-
abethtown and Purdie Methodist
were established.

     The Scots were also very
strong in the area and they
established the Presbyterian
Church in the county, the old-
est being Brown Marsh, near
Clarkton. It is now in the pro-
cess of being restored and can
be seen today setting (sic) on its little
knoll along the road.

     Schools were very important
in the history of Bladen Coun-
ty and many were noted in the
recorded history. One of the
larger being the Clarkton
Academy.^* My father attended
this school about 1900 and it
was considered one of the best
college prep schools in North
Carolina. It was also noted in
many places that the citizens
made double use of their clergy
by using them as teachers and
headmasters in the schools.

     Bladen County has had a proud
and exciting growth over her
first 200 years and during this
period has given birth to 55 of
the counties in North Carolina
today. It is with this note that
we can say it must be a good
place to live as everybody want-
ed a piece of it and we can see
why the peoples were proud to
celebrate their 200th anniver-
sary with parades and speech-
es. Thanks to the celebration,
much history was recorded that
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     Many of the names and places
recorded in 1934 of the past 200
years still exists (sic) today and
can be enjoyed by us all. Fam-
ily names of the past are here- (sic)
with us today and play a major
part in our lives. The progress
of the people was laid out for
200 years for us to see. It
showed the transition from set-
tlers carving out plantations
along the river to industry along
the railroads.

     One of the mainstays of our
heritage has been people who
take pride in their way of life
and preserve it with records
for us. There was such a group
of ladies in Bladen County in
1928 that did just that when
they organized the Battle of
Elizabethtown Chapter of the
DAR on June 19.

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make it possible for us to take
note of places throughout the
county by placing appropriate
signs or markers denoting his-
toric sites. Many were up in
1934 for the Bicentennial Cel-
ebration. This work has not
stopped and I am sure the re-
cords of the DAR will make
2034 a more memorable year
when we celebrate the Tricen-
tennial.

     With pride in our heritage
as Bladen County exhibited in
1934, we can be very proud
of her people and look forward
to a bright and beautiful future."

     It was announced that the
November meeting will be at the
Veterans' Hospital in Fayette-
ville. Lunch will be served and
a tour will be made of the
hospital.