The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution was organized in Washington in 1890. Membership in the patriotic organization is open to any woman at least 18 years old who is descended from a person who provided military or other service to the cause of American independence. The West Virginia State Society of the DAR was organized in 1899. There have been a total of 69 chapters throughout the state; in 2000 there were 44 chapters in the state society, with a membership of some 2,200 women.

The state society of the DAR provides a college nursing scholarship as well as awards to American history essay contest winners in the elementary and middle schools. It also maintains a visitors' cottage at Tamassee DAR School in South Carolina. The society presents awards to outstanding Reserve Officers Training Corps cadets, to high school good citizens, and to volunteers who work with veteran patients. Notable among its efforts in historic preservation was the successful project to restore the Taylor County home of Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day. In 1979, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.