Massanutton Chapter
Organized January 25, 1897
Harrisonburg, Virginia
In the files of the Massanutton Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is a letter written in 1899 by Katherine S. Paul, the Chapter's first Regent. It is written to Miss Mary Lynn Conrad, a charter member, but a member of the DAR before the Massanutton Chapter was organized. "Miss Mollie" had been sent to Richmond as the Chapter's first delegate to a State Convention. In this letter, Mrs. Paul suggests the Chapter name, stating that the word Massanutton came from the Algonquin Indians, and means "Great Mountain Yonder".
"Great Mountain Yonder" is the Massanutten, a range fifty miles long that lies in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies. The southern end terminates in a beautiful high point known as Massanutten Peak. Harrisonburg lies within a few miles of it.
Note the two ways of spelling. Research supports the spelling of Massanutton as the Indian spelling.