Constantia Chapter, NSDAR
Suffolk, Virginia
The Constantia Chapter of the DAR was organized February 21, 2025 and named after the oldest house in Suffolk and home of John Constant.
Constant was one of the first English-speaking persons to settle at Constant Warehouse on the Nansemond River. In May of 1748, the Williamsburg legislature passed an Act to establish a town at Constant Warehouse to be called Suffolk.
The original Constant dwelling survived the Revolutionary War and the War Between the States, but by the early 1900's was in such a state of disrepair that it was demolished to make way for Cedar Hill Cemetery.
In 1924, Mrs. Blanche Kilby Bell, Constantia's first Regent, instituted the raising of the necessary funds to rebuild the replica of the main portion of the house on its original foundation. The house and site were deeded to the DAR Constantia Chapter by the City Council.
In 1994, it was moved to its present location, and has served as a meeting place for the DAR and other civic groups in the city ever since.
On November 10, 1994, the Constantia Chapter dedicated a memorial tablet marking the site of the John Constant House, circa 1720, and the replica of the house, built by the DAR in 1926.
