Chapter History

The King’s Gap Chapter, NSDAR, was organized on September 15, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person meetings were forbidden in Georgia at the time, so a Zoom meeting was conducted over the internet. There were 56 ladies in attendance – 40 chapter members and 16 guests, including the State Regent OB McCorkle and National Vice President General Joyce Ball Patton. Organizing Regent Mary Mullins led the meeting. It just goes to show, do not underestimate what Daughters can accomplish. The chapter was organized with 59 members and confirmed on October 5, 2020, by the National Board of Management.

The name King’s Gap was chosen as a chapter name by most members because it probably represents the first white village near where we live. Other Indian villages may have existed in the area, but we do not have the history of any of those possible villages. King’s Gap was a village and mountain pass in Harris County, Georgia, a few miles southeast of the current day Pine Mountain, Georgia in what is now the Franklin D Roosevelt State Park. The date at which King’s Gap was established is not clear, but it was many years before the 1827 chartering of Harris County. The land that is now Harris County belonged to the Lower Creek Indians. In 1825, a treaty was made with the Lower Creeks at Indian Springs, Georgia. All the land in Georgia’s present state was ceded to the United States in exchange for land west of the Mississippi. William McIntosh, chief of the Cowetans, agreed to this original treaty. The Creeks were not happy with this arrangement, became hostile, and killed McIntosh. In 1826, another treaty was made with thirteen Creek Chiefs. This treaty ceded all Creek lands east of the Chattahoochee River to the United States, and a large tract north of the Chattahoochee was given back to the Creeks. Georgia Governor Troup was not happy with this treaty. Still, another treaty was made in 1827, which settled the differences between the Creeks and the white settlers and gave us Georgia’s present limits.

Harris County was created in 1827 and occupied by citizens from older Georgia counties and other southern states like Virginia and the Carolinas. The settlers found only Indian trails in the county. These trails were made into roads, and new roads were also constructed. King’s Gap was the most historic village in the area. When it was established, the Indians still owned the land, and it was a stop on the stagecoach route from Columbus to Newnan, Georgia. It was a lively spot. A trading station was established here by a man named King when the Indians owned the land. He established an inn, a repair shop for wagons, and a small trading post, among other things. A thriving town developed here. For sixty years, King’s Gap was a real point on the map. It had its own Post Office from May 16, 1829, until October 7, 1856. But one day, the railroad pushed over the mountain down into the valley, and the town of Hood was born a few miles west of King’s Gap. With the railroad, Hood was booming. Feeling outclassed and its sources of livelihood having been greatly handicapped when freighting by wagon ceased, King’s Gap residents and businesses bowed to the inevitable and moved to Hood.

Today, there is not much left of King’s Gap other than the road that carries its name. Hood is now only a crossroads, and no landmarks bear its name. There was an issue with the title to the land upon which the railroad was built. Land was bought a mile north, and the town moved there. This is current day Pine Mountain, Georgia, which was originally named Chipley.