October 11, 2002

A privately owned public school in Grant, Kate Duncan Smith Daughters of the American Revolution School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Oct. 11, 2002. In 1922, the National Society of the DAR said it would build schools in rural areas in the East, where the Civil War was fought. Of 29 appeals for schools, the three Alabama sites that were chosen as finalists for DAR schools were in Marion, St. Clair and Marshall counties. The DAR chose the Gunter Mountain site near Grant in Marshall County, citing the isolation of the area, the great need for educational opportunities and the enthusiasm of the people. Founded in 1924, the school was named for Kate Duncan Smith, the regent of the Elyton Chapter of the DAR for more than 20 years. She was honored in this way because she played a major role in the selection process. Today, the school has about 1,400 students, 75 teachers, three principals, one assistant principal, one administrator and 60 support staff. The campus houses the elementary, middle and high schools, along with faculty housing.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Sign at the entrance to the Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, 2017. (Brian Stansberry, Wikipedia)

The Nan Roberts Lane Chapel on the campus of Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, Alabama.

Pennsylvania Log Cabin at Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, Marshall County, was built to house the school library in 1935. Today it serves as the school museum. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Angela C. Otts)

The Helen Pouch Building was constructed in 1946 as a lunchroom on the campus of Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, Marshall County. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Angela C. Otts)

Becker Hall was the original gymnasium of the Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, Marshall County, built from logs harvested on Grant Mountain. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Angela C. Otts)

The Louise Wilson Jacobs building, constructed in 1924, contains the original four classrooms and auditorium of the Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, Marshall County. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Angela C. Otts)

Historical marker at the Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, 2017. (Brian Stansberry, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.