The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America is an American organization composed of women who are descended from an ancestor "who came to reside in an American Colony before 1776, and whose services were rendered during the Colonial Period." The organization has 44 corporate societies and over 15,000 members. The national headquarters is

Dumbarton House Dumbarton House is a Federal style house located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was completed around 1800. Its first occupant was Joseph Nourse, the first Register of the Treasury. Dumbarton House, a federal period hist ...

in Georgetown,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The executive director since September 2021 is Carol Cadou.

History

The organization was founded in 1891, shortly after the founding of a similar society, the

Colonial Dames of America The Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an American organization composed of women who are descended from an ancestor who lived in British America from 1607 to 1775, and was of service to the colonies by either holding public office, being in th ...

(CDA). The main difference between the two is that the CDA was created to have a centrally organized structure under the control of the parent Society in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The NSCDA was intended as a federation of State Societies in which each unit had a degree of autonomy. Another society formed around the same time was the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

. Organized following the

United States Centennial The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

of 1876 and a Centennial in New York in 1889 (celebrating the Constitution), they built on renewed interest in America's past to work for preservation of historic collections and buildings, and education related to United States history. The NSCDA has been a leader in the field of historic preservation, restoration and the interpretation of historic sites since its New York Society first undertook the preservation of the Van Cortlandt House in 1897. In November 2000, the NSCDA received the prestigious Trustee Emeritus Award for Excellence in the Stewardship of historic sites from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Today 41 diverse properties are owned outright by the Corporate Societies of the NSCDA, 13 additional museum collections are owned by the Dames and 30 more properties receive substantial volunteer and financial support from Dames. The organization includes 44 Corporate Societies with over 15,000 members. The Society headquarters is located at Dumbarton House (pictured below), in Washington, D.C. In addition to its broad based activities in the museum field, the Society sponsors a number of scholarship programs and other historic preservation, patriotic service and educational projects to further the aims and objects of the Society. Historic house museums owned or operated by the NSCDA, include: *

Andrew Low House Juliette Gordon Low Historic District consists of three buildings—the Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace (also known as Wayne-Gordon House, First Girl Scout Headquarters, which was the carriage house for the Andrew Low House, converted for use by ...

, Savannah, Georgia * Burgwin-Wright House, Wilmington, North Carolina *

Henry B. Clarke House The Henry B. and Caroline Clarke/Bishop Louis Henry and Margaret Ford House or Clarke-Ford House is a Greek Revival style home, now serving as a house museum in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built around 1836, it is considered the oldest ex ...

, Chicago, Illinois *

, Washington, DC, the Society's national headquarters *

Governor Stephen Hopkins House The Governor Stephen Hopkins House is a museum and National Historic Landmark at 15 Hopkins Street in Providence, Rhode Island. The house was the home of Stephen Hopkins—a governor of Rhode Island and signatory of the Declaration of Independe ...

, Providence, Rhode Island * Gunston Hall, Mason Neck, Virginia * Haywood Hall, Raleigh, North Carolina *

Old Indian Agency House The Historic Indian Agency House is located in Portage, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The house is located near the Portage Canal. History The house was built by the Federal government of the Un ...

, Portage, Wisconsin (www.agencyhouse.org) * Hoover-Minthorn House, Newberg, Oregon *

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...

, Frankfort, Kentucky *

McElroy Octagon House The McElroy Octagon House, also known as the Colonial Dames Octagon House, is a historic octagonal house now located at 2645 Gough Street at Union Street in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It is listed as a San Franc ...

, San Francisco, California * Plum Grove Historic House, Iowa City, Iowa * Stenton,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Ximenez-Fatio House Ximenez-Fatio House Museum is one of the best-preserved and most authentic Second Spanish Period (1783-1821) residential buildings in St. Augustine, Florida. In 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was designated a ...

, St. Augustine, Florida * Mount Clare,

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

* McAllister House Museum,

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum The Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, located in Wethersfield, Connecticut, is owned and operated by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Connecticut. The museum features three 18th-century houses that sit on their original sites in ...

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. Its population was 27,298 at the time of the 2020 census. Many records from colonial times spell the name ...

* Hotel de Paris Museum,

Georgetown, Colorado The historic Town of Georgetown is the territorial charter municipality that is the county seat of Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,118 at the 2020 United States Census. The former silver mining camp along ...

Joel Lane Museum House The Joel Lane House, also known as Wakefield, was built in 1769 and is now a restored historic home and museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is the oldest dwelling in Wake County and contains collections of 18th century artifacts and period fur ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

* Old First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington, Wilmington, Delaware * Tate House, Portland, Maine * Moffat-Ladd House, Portsmouth, New Hampshire *

Whitehall Museum House The Whitehall Museum House is the farmhouse modified by Dean George Berkeley, when he lived in the northern section of Newport, Rhode Island that comprises present-day Middletown in 1729–1731, while working to open his planned St Paul's Colle ...

Middletown, Rhode Island Middletown is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 17,075 at the 2020 census. It lies to the south of Portsmouth and to the north of Newport on Aquidneck Island, hence the name "Middletown". History Vari ...

William Hickling Prescott House William Hickling Prescott House, also known as the Headquarters House, is an historic house museum located at 55 Beacon Street on Beacon Hill in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the left-hand portion of a double townhouse at 54–55 Beacon Street, ...

, Boston, Massachusetts *

Wilton House Museum Wilton House Museum is a museum in a historic house located in Richmond, Virginia. Wilton was constructed c. 1753 by William Randolph III, son of William Randolph II, of Turkey Island. Wilton was originally the manor house on a tobacco plant ...

, Richmond, Virginia A more complete listing, with links to many of the state societies and their historic properties, is included on the official website.

Notable members

Helen Gilman Noyes Brown Helen Gilman Noyes Brown (October 12, 1867 – December 12, 1942) was an American philanthropist. Brown had a distinguished record of service to New York City. As social worker for years at the Union Settlement of the Upper East Side, her long ...

(1867–1942), philanthropist *

Sarah Johnson Cocke Sarah Johnson Cocke (, Johnson; after first marriage, Hagan; after second marriage, Cocke; February 7, 1865 – January 20, 1944) was an American writer and civic leader. She was also active in several women's clubs. Cocke's works of Southern fic ...

(1865-1944), writer and civic leader *

Mary Hilliard Hinton Mary Hilliard Hinton (June 7, 1869 – January 6, 1961) was an American painter, historian, clubwoman, and anti-suffragist. She was a leader in North Carolina's Anti-suffragism, anti-suffragist movement and an outspoken white supremacist, co-fou ...

(1869–1961), historian and anti-suffragist *

Anne Hazen McFarland Anne Hazen McFarland, M.D. (, McFarland; after first marriage, Cromwell; after second marriage, Sharpe; October 10, 1868 – December 13, 1930) was an American physician and medical journal editor. Early life and education Anne Hazen McFarland wa ...

(1868–1930), physician and medical journal editor *

Lilian Carpenter Streeter Lilian Carpenter Streeter (July 22, 1854 – March 29, 1935) was an American social reformer, organizational founder, clubwoman, and author. She founded the Concord Woman's Club, and the New Hampshire Federation of Woman's Clubs. Having lived in ...

(1854–1935), social reformer *

Margaret Anderson Watts Margaret Anderson Watts (, Anderson; September 3, 1832 – April 30, 1905) was an American social reformer in the temperance movement, writer, and clubwoman. She was a deep thinker on the most advanced social and religious topics of her day, and oc ...

(1832–1905), social reformer

References

External links

Official website

Papers, 1975-ca. 1978
Schlesinger Library,

Radcliffe Institute The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University—also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute—is a part of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts, a ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

.
The American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Society Of The Colonial Dames Of America 501(c)(3) organizations Lineage societies Clubs and societies in the United States History of women in the United States Nonpartisan organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1891 Patriotic societies Women's organizations based in the United States Women's clubs in the United States 1891 establishments in the United States

History

Notable members

See also

References

External links