Katherine Pettit.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (KT) - Katherine Pettit, the socially prominent daughter of a prosperous Lexington farming family who left a lasting legacy in the settlement movement, was honored with a grave marking by the Lexington Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
While Pettit is known in Eastern Kentucky as one of the two founders of Hindman as well as Pine Mountain Settlement schools, her grave at the historic Lexington Cemetery was marked only with a simple, small white stone.
Nancy DeMarcus, a long-time member of the Lexington Chapter, NSDAR had Miss Pettit’s headstone cleaned and arranged to have a marker placed at her grave. The marker honors her significant role as a leader in DAR as well as two historic settlement schools.
“The Lexington Chapter is proud that Katherine Pettit was a member of our chapter, and it was our privilege to mark her final resting place with the prominence and dignity it deserves,” said Chapter Historian Nancy DeMarcus.
The chapter agreed in 2017 that Ms. Pettit’s grave should be marked. Initially, the plan was to place the DAR insignia on the existing headstone. However, Nancy met with representatives of the Lexington Cemetery and immediately realized that Ms. Pettit’s stone would not accommodate the insignia.
Lexington Daughters responded immediately to raise additional funds to install a marble footstone.
“The Lexington Chapter members, as well as the community at large, responded so generously to make the marker possible,” said Ms. DeMarcus.
At a dedication of the marker, attended by many local and state DAR dignitaries and leaders of Hindman Settlement School, Sharon Withers made remarks about Ms. Pettit’s career. As a native of Eastern Kentucky and a past national DAR officer, Ms. Withers had a special interest in Ms. Pettit.
“Katherine Pettit became interested in Eastern Kentucky after reading newspaper articles about mountain feuds,” said Ms. Withers during the March 25 grave marking.
“While she may have arrived in Knott and Perry counties with preconceived, stereotypical ideas about mountain people - poor, illiterate, barefoot, and violent - she learned to appreciate and respect the rich culture of the mountains. It was this mutual respect and cooperation that ensured the success of Hindman Settlement School.”
Katherine Pettit was an educational pioneer and a champion of children from Eastern Kentucky.
“She remains a central figure of the Progressivism movement and deserves every accolade and honor bestowed on her, now 116 years after she co-founded the first rural settlement school in the United States in Hindman,” said Brent Hutchinson, former executive director of Hindman Settlement School. Hindman is one of the nationally-designated schools supported by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Ms. Pettit, along with May Stone, founded Hindman Settlement School in 1902. Ms. Pettit later founded Pine Mountain Settlement School.
Katherine Pettit was born Feb. 23, 1868, the child of Clara Mason Pettit and Benjamin F. Pettit. Miss Pettit attended Sayre School in Lexington, then known as the Sayre Female Institute. She was active in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the State Federation of Women’s Clubs, as well as the DAR.
Ms. Pettit borrowed from Hull House principles of “social justice, fairness, tolerance, respect, equal opportunity, civic responsibility and hope for every individual, family and community.”
From 1899 to 1901, Ms. Pettit and May Stone, a Wellesley College graduate from Louisville, raised enough money and, under the auspices of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, established the Settlement School in Hindman. In 1915 the School was incorporated and renamed the Hindman Settlement School.
Marking graves is one of the many activities that DAR encourages as part of its historic preservation mission. Over the years the DAR marked the Wilderness Road, contributed more than $500,000 to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., and helped restore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.