The Martha Dandridge Garden Club was organized in 1927 in Dandridge, Tennessee. The twenty-two founding members elected Mrs. H. B. Jarnigan as their first president.
The old graveyard in the center of Dandridge was one of the club's first civic projects. The restoration and beautification of this spot, where early settlers and patriots of the Revolutionary War are buried, continues to be an important duty of club members. In addition to landscaping, benches of old stone were constructed, a monument erected to the patriots, and a flagpole erected. In 2002, the Diamond Jubilee Year of the club, a sundial was installed.
Our club honors Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, our first "First Lady." Dandridge, Tennessee, the second oldest town in Tennessee, is the only town in the USA named for George's wife. Nearby Chestnut Grove was the name of her family plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Dandridge was almost inundated by the Douglas Dam Power Project in the early 1940's, but civic-minded local citizens pleaded with President Franklin D. Roosevelt for help. As a result, a massive dike was constructed and the town was saved. |
