Promoting “off the Mall” museums and our neighborhoods
Dumbarton House
Museum and Headquarters of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America
Dumbarton House is a Federal period historic house museum built in 1799. The museum features a significant collection of decorative arts, paintings, and furniture, from the early Republic. Joseph Nourse, first Register of the U.S. Treasury, resided at Dumbarton House with his family, servants, and enslaved people from 1804-1813. Drawing on our rich collection of Nourse objects and family archives, as well as public and private collections, Dumbarton House offers a fascinating insight into the daily lives of people in the Federal period. The second floor gallery and Education Center will open in September 2023.
Dumbarton House hosts a regular schedule of virtual and in-person public programs including concerts, lectures, performances, tastings, and family-oriented activities.
Dumbarton House serves as the headquarters of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, a female genealogical organization established in 1891. In 1928, the NSCDA purchased the house and opened the site as a museum in 1932 to further their mission of preservation, patriotism, and education.