Captain James Ormond Chapter, NSDAR Ormond Beach, Florida
Captain James Ormond Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR or DAR), is an active, genealogy-based service organization that supports many community projects benefiting local students, our deployed soldiers and veterans, conservation efforts, women's health initiatives, education and literacy, and historic preservation. We meet monthly, September through May.
About Captain James Ormond Chapter, NSDAR
The Captain James Ormond Chapter, NSDAR, was founded on June 6, 1966. Our chapter is conveniently located in Ormond Beach, Florida, between Flagler Beach to the north and Daytona Beach to the south, and bordering on the beautiful beaches of the Atlantic Ocean and verdant Tomoka State Park.
Map courtesy of Sperlings Best Places.
Our present-day city and chapter were named for Captain James Ormond, whose family settled in Volusia County, Florida, in the 18th century. James Ormond was the captain and owner of the armed brig Somerset, in the service of Panton, Leslie & Company, a famous Scottish firm involved in the West Indian trade. Captain Ormond sailed from the pirate-filled waters of the West Indies to Savannah and Apalachicola. Captain James Ormond moved with his family and other British plantation owners to the Volusia County area around 1790. His first Florida plantation was in the Spruce Creek and New Smyrna area. His other property, Damietta, included a grant of 2,000 acres north of present-day Ormond Beach.
Portrait courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
At the turn of the 20th century, John D. Rockefeller bought property in Ormond Beach and spent winters here in his home, The Casements.
In 1903, the sands of Ormond Beach became a testing ground for automotive drivers who set speed records on our hard-packed sand beach. Ormond Beach is known as the "Birthplace of Speed."
Photo courtesy of the Rockerfeller Archives.
