Craig Valley Chapter was founded due to the enthusiasm and encouragement of Craig county native, Bettie Byrd Huffman St. Clair. Bettie is a long-time member of Ft. Maiden Spring Chapter in Tazewell, Virginia, but keeps up with her hometown through friends at the Craig County Historical Society. In the summer of 2007, Bettie met with Helen Looney, Kitty Rogers, and Nancy Feild at the Bread Basket restaurant in New Castle.
Nancy had been a Daughter in North Carolina and so volunteered to be our organizing regent. The chapter was privileged to award Nancy with her 40-year certificate in one of our first recognition ceremonies.
The charter meeting took place at the Old Brick Hotel in New Castle on October 6, 2007. Eight local prospective members were present in addition to Bettie Byrd and representatives from District VII, Jackie Frith, Director, and Eleanor Dye, Registrar.
Nancy, Eleanor, and others worked hard to prepare accurate and thorough application papers in a timely manner. Sixteen charter members were recognized by the National Board of Management, NSDAR, in October 2007. Their Revolutionary War ancestors include several Craig County veterans. Three names were considered for the first DAR chapter to be located in Craig County, including Craig Mountains and Craig County. The charter members voted against those in favor of Craig Valley. This name is in honor of the area which was settled in the 1700s by the Caldwell, Hutchison, Lugar, Looney, Reynolds, and Huffman families. Through their hard work and bravery these hardy pioneers paved the way for their descendants’ futures among the beautiful mountains and valleys of Craig County, Virginia.