Chapter History

Turlock Chapter, NSDAR, Organization

A chapter was formed to benefit the greater Turlock area population including Denair, Delhi, Gustine, Hilmar, Hughson, and Turlock.  The Turlock Chapter, NSDAR, was officially organized by the National Board of Management on June 26, 2006, with nineteen members. 

There are now 47 members of the chapter dedicated to the many projects of the National Society and stand ready to serve "God, Home, and Country." 

History of the Turlock Chapter, NSDAR, Name

The source of the name “Turlock” remains a mystery to this day. Originally Turlock was to be named “Sierra” but with the potential for confusion with the mountains or county of the same name, “Sierra” was abandoned. “Turlock” may come from “turlough,” an Irish dry lake. The City of Turlock was founded on December 22, 1871, by John William Mitchell, a prominent grain farmer who owned 100,000 acres of land from Keyes to Atwater (encompassing what is now the City of Turlock). A century ago a California farmer named Henry Stirring opened a channel and let water from an irrigation canal flow onto his newly planted corn crop. On that day in the middle of March Stirring’s name was etched into the annals of history as the first grower in the state to receive water supplied by California’s very first publicly owned irrigation district; Turlock Irrigation District. The introduction of irrigation in 1900 paved the way for the production of a wide variety of high-value crops in the semi-arid region of the Northern San Joaquin Valley that until then was limited to vast tracts of wheat and other dryland farm crops and transformed California into the most productive agricultural state in the nation.

The logo that adorns the header of this website was designed to depict the rich agricultural history of the area. From the aqueduct to irrigated farms to the many fruit and nut trees each is vitally important to the Central Valley’s agriculture.

National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution