Please contact us at [email protected] if interested in membership. One of the older DAR Chapters in Minnesota, Maria Sanford Chapter was chartered in Minneapolis on Sept 6, 1923. The chapter has focused on volunteer efforts that were important to Maria Sanford, including education, conservation, and patriotism. Born December 19, 1823, in Saybrook, Connecticut, Maria Sanford was one of
the first women professors in the United States, teaching first at Swarthmore College for ten years and then at the University of Minnesota for 29 years as professor of rhetoric and elocution. She founded the Minneapolis Improvement League in 1892, which had as its sole purpose the beautification of the city. Her statue stands in the National Statuary Hall Collection of the United States Capitol. Maria Sanford was a Member at Large, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. Her Patriot Ancestor: Rufus Clark of Connecticut. One of her quotes: “The greatest need of the country is an intelligent citizenry.”
Some highlights from Maria Sanford Chapter’s history:
Gifts to the Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel 1928 – Brass Plate Placed on a pew purchased by Maria Sanford Chapter “In Memoriam Maria Sanford Chapter, DAR Minneapolis 1928”
Honoring Maria Sanford: 14th & Willow Streets, Loring Park, Minneapolis, MN. Marker honoring Maria Sanford is inscribed: “In memory of Maria Sanford D.A.R. Maria Sanford Chapter.” She was the first woman professor at the University of Minnesota. Sanford Hall was named in her memory. In 1923, the Maria Sanford Chapter, NSDAR, persuaded the Minneapolis School Board to name a school for Miss Sanford. The Maria Sanford High School received support from the chapter, including hundreds of volumes of books. In 1921, the Minnesota State Society of the DAR established the Maria Sanford Loan Fund. The fund was established through gifts from DAR chapters across Minnesota to help girls attend the University of Minnesota. Eventually, the loan fund was opened up to boys and other colleges. Robinson’s administration, 1976-1978, the load fund was changed to a scholarship fund. In 1988, the scholarship fund was amended to only disperse the interest earned on the endowment, to the winners of the American History Scholarship and the DAR Good Citizen Award. Each award is $1000. Miss Sanford’s death occurred while attending the 1920 Daughters of the American Revolution Continental Congress in Washington DC. Although she had expressed her wishes to be “buried where she died”, she was buried in Philadelphia, the home of her brother. The life-sized statue of Maria Louise Sanford, created by Minneapolis sculptor Evelyn Raymond, was unveiled in the rotunda of the Capitol Building, Washington DC on November 12, 1958. Named for the honor by the 1943 Minnesota Legislature, Miss Sanford’s statue was the second of the two statues allowed from each state to be placed in the Capitol Building. Engraved on the bronze table on the base:
“The best known and best loved woman in Minnesota
Maria L. Sanford, Educator, Orator and Civic Leader
December 19, 1836 – April 21, 1920
Statue of Maria Sanford
Sturdy and resilient Puritan, whose perceptive mind and reverence for classic truth and beauty quickened intellectual life within the pioneer state of
Minnesota and beyond its frontiers.”
Maria Sanford Chapter members are currently working on several projects including sending care packages to active duty deployed females, cleaning cemetery headstones in Minneapolis, assisting a local kindergarten class, donating items to the Minneapolis VAMC, assisting and donating to the Harriet Tubman shelter, and many more. The content contained herein does not necessarily represent the position of the NSDAR. Hyperlinks to other sites
are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations, or individual DAR chapters.
