Colonial Dames of America
The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America
AbbreviationNSCDA
FoundedApril 8, 1891
TypeNon-profit, lineage society
FocusHistoric preservation, education, patriotism
HeadquartersDumbarton House
Membership
15,000
Carol Cadou
PublicationDames in Uniform
Websitenscda.org

The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA) 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. The national headquarters is Dumbarton House in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. 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 (CDA), which was created to have a centrally organized structure under the control of the parent Society in New York City.

The NSCDA was intended as a federation of State Societies in which each unit had a degree of autonomy.[1] Another society formed around the same time was the Daughters of the American Revolution. Organized following the United States Centennial of 1876 and a Centennial of the US Constitution in New York in 1889, the NSCDA has worked in 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.

The organization includes 44 corporate societies. Its headquarters is located at Dumbarton House, in Washington, D.C. In addition to its activities in museum work, the Society sponsors scholarship programs and other historic preservation, patriotic service and educational projects. Historic house museums owned or operated by the NSCDA include:

Notable members

See also

References

  1. ↑ The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, Pennsylvania Headquarters Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Whitehall Museum House, c.1729". Visit Historic NSCDA Museums. Colonial Dames of America. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
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