In 1924, the Society purchased the property that was to become the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum. Originally known as the Abigail Adams Smith House, it is located at 421 East 61st St in New York City. After extensive restoration, it was opened to the public in 1939, timed to coincide with the New York World’s Fair. In 1973, it was restored for the second time and added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the few 18th century buildings remaining on the island of Manhattan.

This historic house was built in 1799 on the former estate of Robert Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  Chapter II – Philadelphia maintained the house for almost sixty years, 1957-2016. The chapter’s mission was to increase awareness of this unique and nationally important Federal-style mansion and to teach awareness of our nation’s heritage, particularly, the period from 1800–1836 in Philadelphia. Chapter II also developed an interactive educational plan, which served approximately 8,000 visitors annually.

L’Hermione is a full-sized replica of General Lafayette’s ship, also known as the “Frigate of Liberty.” In 2015, Chapter IV – Paris was a major sponsor of its commemorative Atlantic crossing. On April 18th, the frigate departed from Aix and sailed to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, before embarking on her transatlantic voyage. With 84 crew members on board, L’Hermione arrived in Yorktown that June, where she began a tour of the American coast, celebrating Lafayette’s original crossing. [Learn about L’Hermoine’s 2015 voyage]

The Abner Cloud House, built in 1801, is one of the oldest surviving stone houses along the Potomac River. In the 1970s, Chapter III – Washington, DC partnered with the National Park Service to restore and maintain the house as part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Thanks to CDA’s stewardship, the Abner Cloud House has become a historic landmark where visitors can glimpse domestic life of the early republic.

Chapter X – Rome has long supported preservation efforts The Non-Catholic Cemetery (Old Protestant Burying Ground, 1716), in Rome, Italy,  The cemetery is best known as the burial site of John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and many poets, artists, diplomats, and others from around the world. Chapter X has been instrumental in research efforts, publishing on the 100 most notable Americans interred there and continuing research to document 840 Americans buried between 1803-2010.

The Mount Vernon Garden, at the American Museum at Bath, England, was presented by The Colonial Dames of America in 1962. The garden, commemorating George Washington, is a reproduction of the 18th–century Upper Garden at George Washington’s estate in Virginia. In the 21st century, Chapter XI-London provided updates on the signage.

The White House Restoration, Washington DC, 1962. The Colonial Dames of America contributed three glass chandeliers (1810) and eight smoke bell lanterns (Regency) which had hung in the Governor’s Palace in Calcutta. These were placed in the hall adjacent to the Diplomatic Reception Room.

Chapter III – Washington, DC purchased the George Wythe House as part of early efforts to create Historic Williamsburg in the late 1920s. CDA paid close to $10,000 of the total $15,000 cost of the building before it was turned over to the Restoration project for Williamsburg in the early 1930s.

This ornately-designed iron gate, built by John Williams of New York, was presented to Jamestown by The Colonial Dames of America and its various chapters in 1907. The gates were restored several decades later by Chapter XXIII-Virginia and most recently restored and re-guilded by the Society in 2019. Read More Here.

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The Washington Memorial Chapel, the open air “Woodlands Pulpit” and New York Archway-Bay, Valley Forge, PA, was contributed by The Colonial Dames of America. The Commander-in-Chief door to the cloister of the Memorial Chapel was placed by Chapter II-Philadelphia. An Italian lace chalice veil was given by Chapter IV-Paris. Other CDA contributions to the effort include Chapter II’s presentation of the “Commander in Chief” door to the cloister at the chapel.

St. James Church is near Sulgrave Manor, England, ancestral home of the Washington family. The Colonial Dames of America and its chapters donated the pipe organ in 1930 in memory of Mrs. William Warner Hoppin, Mrs. John Lyon Gardiner, and Mrs. James Watson Gerard. 

The CDA and its chapters made major contributions to the restoration of Sulgrave Manor, ancestral home of the Washington family, including funds toward refinishing the main room

Kenmore is the only surviving structure from the Kenmore plantation in Fredericksburg, Va. It was the home of Fielding and Betty Washington Lewis, the sister of George Washington. The CDA contributed the furnishings in the upstairs guest bedroom, where Gen. Lafayette was known to have stayed.

The Abingdon Episcopal Church was built from plans drawn by Sir Christopher Wren. Chapter I – Baltimore contributed to the restoration of the church (founded 1668) in 1898 as one of its first historic preservation projects.

The late 18th century McDowell House and Apothecary is a National Historic Landmark and the former home of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, the “father of abdominal surgery.” Chapter IX – Lexington, KY, furnished a bedroom in the house and continues to support the museum.

Chapter I-Baltimore, Chapter II – Philadelphia, and the Society made a major contribution to the restoration, including pews and the original brick and stone aisle. Visit their website.

Pohick Church, Fairfax County, Va. (1772) Built from plans drawn by George Washington. Contributions to the restoration, including the pulpit, stair, sounding board, and reredos. CDA Archives

Letters to Washington and Accompanying Papers, in five volumes, was published in 1906 through the generosity of The Colonial Dames and its chapters. Chapter II- Philadelphia presented a set of the books to the Library at Valley Forge.

Hampton Mansion, Towson, MD.  The property on which Hampton was constructed was originally part of the Northampton land grant given to Col. Henry Darnall, a relative of Lord Baltimore, in 1695. In 2014 Chapter I-Baltimore celebrated its sixty-fourth year of continual support of Hampton Mansion. Among the chapter’s contributions are the music room.

A room was given in memory of Edith Corse Evans, a Dame who lost her life in the Titanic disaster. There is a plaque in her honor at Grace Episcopal Church in Manhattan, which says in part,  “In Gratitude to God for the Memory of Edith Corse Evans, Who in the midst of life gave herself for others on the Titanic XV April MCMXII”. Visit the Seaman’s Church.

Chapter 1 – Baltimore presented the church bell to the 200-year-old church, which had never before had a bell to call together its worshipers. (Source: The Churchman, June 1908, pg. 89)

Chapter X – Rome contributed numerous books on American history to the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, the national library in Rome, Italy.

[ Learn more about the Biblioteca Nazionale ]

Chapter I-Baltimore presented the library with a donation to be used for books focused on American history.

[ Visit the William and Mary Library site ]

Chapter I-Baltimore endowed the salary of an Italian-American teacher, who presented a course for recent Italian immigrants at the International Institute, Baltimore.