On June 29, 1941, here at this very site a patriotic and devotional service was held. The unveiling of the monument to John Dillard, a soldier of the Revolutionary War, was the purpose of the service. Twin boys, Russell and Edgar Ivie, great, great, great, great grandchildren of John Dillard unveiled the monument. The service lasted from 11:30 A.M. until around 3:30 P.M. To the best of my knowledge, I am the oldest living Dillard that is a descendant of John around this vicinity.

My father was Barnard Edward Lee Dillard, my grandfather Zachariah Barnette Dillard, great grandfather William F. Dillard, great great grandfather James Dillard and my great, great, great grandfather was Lt. John Dillard, patriot of the Revolutionary War.

We know that John Dillard settled this territory around 1819. With him he brought his wife, Ruth Vaughn Dillard, his son , James Dillard, daughter-in-law, Sallie Barnard Dillard, and daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. To the best of our knowledge, John was about 68 years old at that time.

Contrary to recordings, I believe that John and James had to settle with the Indians before settling with the State of Georgia Lottery System. The family story is that they gave the Indians a muzzle loading rifle, a jug of apple brandy, a coonskin hat, and three dollars. The state line was not drawn until 1825. The Dillards had already settled here for several years before that. I believe the Dillards thought they were still in North Carolina.

The Lottery System did not award this land to the Dillards. James Dillard rode horseback to buy the land from the holders of the certificates. The story goes that for four (4) land lots, approximately 250 acres each (1,000 acres), James paid $1,000.00. John Dillard took no title to land in Rabun County; it was all in James' name.

James Dillard had a bunch of daughters and four sons. The custom in those days was for the daughters to get the things called household goods and the sons to get the land. James Dillard gave the land on which the Head of Tennessee Baptist Church now rests. The strings attached to this gift, however, were that when the Baptist were not meeting then other denominations could use the building for their services. The Dillards believed in "freedom of religion" not "freedom from religion". I don't know of any atheist ancestors or descendants for that matter.

The three sons of James were Albert, Barnett, and William F. They inherited about 330 acres each. Albert got the northern strip, William F. got the central strip, and Barnett got the southern strip.

William F. built his house on the middle strip and was married to Jeanette Gibson. William F. had in some way gotten the rifle that John Dillard had used in the Revolutionary War. Overtime and miles, the rifle had been reworked from a flint and steel to a percussion cap and ball.

William F. left his wife and two sons Hiram and Zack when he joined the Clarksville Militia and went on to the Civil War. No one here ever heard from William F. Dillard again until recently. Ann Dickerson, historian here in Rabun, County, discovered that he died of pneumonia during the Civil War and is buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia.

After William left for the Civil War, another child was born (Sarah), known to all of us as Aunt Sallie Powell. Shortly after Aunt Sallie was born, Jeanette Gibson Dillard died..

The Methodist Church made these orphaned children wards of the church and placed them with other responsible families in Rabun County to raise. Uncle Hiram was raised by the Cannons, Aunt Sallie by the Green family and Zack by the Ritchie's. However, the Methodist Church didn't quit here. When these children reached legal age, the Church conducted a division of the land and awarded the three strips, one to each child. In awarding these strips of land, the children drew straws for the individual pieces of land, about 110 acres each. My grandfather Zack drew the strip where the W. F. Dillard house was located and in the house was the old John Dillard rifle that was used in the Revolutionary War.

The old William F. Dillard house was enlarged to become the first Dillard House sometime after Granddaddy Zack had married Mary Rebecca Ritchie and had 10 children. My father was Barnard Dillard. He married my mother, Curtis Malcolm Dillard, and they had two sons, Joe and myself. We lived in the old house with granddaddy and grandmother. When granddaddy and grandmother were both in their 80's, they were getting to old to take care of guests and decided to quit. Jim Dillard came down to talk with granddaddy asking to take the Dillard House name for their establishment then known as Oaklawn. Granddaddy Zack told Jim, "Sure we can't do it any longer." The old William F. Dillard house still stands today just down the hill from where Franklin Street runs into 441. It now belongs to my son, Zack Dillard, and is leased to Appalachian Realty.

The old John Dillard rifle was willed to me by my Granddaddy Zack and I have placed it on display in the Dillard House. I will continue to display the rifle there since it is a symbol of history to the entire Dillard Family. I will pass the rifle on to my son, Zack Dillard, who will pass it on to one of his sons, Nathan or Nicholas.

Good neighbors and friends have saved our remnant of the Dillard family. The church played a vital role in our survival. There are those people here today that are just as much kin to John Dillard as I am. In the struggles of the past, we have relied on one another during our joys and our sorrows. Let's continue together to preserve our freedom and our religious beliefs. Thank you all!