The NSCDA

The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA) works to inspire all people to understand our nation’s origins. By examining the people, places, and events that led to the formation and development of our country, we hope to foster an understanding of the complex history of our nation. We attempt to achieve this by creating widespread interest in the stories of our country’s origins and by inviting all people to learn about the vision and valor of the men and women, free and enslaved, whose sacrifices and achievements gave birth to our nation. The NSCDA, founded in 1891, is an unincorporated association of 44 Corporate Societies with approximately 15,000 members. The organization’s headquarters is located in Washington, D.C. at Dumbarton House, a Federal-period house museum. The NSCDA’s mission focuses on historic preservation, patriotic service, and educational projects. We sponsor a number of scholarship programs—most notably, the American Indian Medical Scholarship and the Congressional Essay Contest for high school students. With the creation of Great American Treasures through the NSCDA’s Museum Alliance, we have brought together more than 60 museum properties, monuments, and historic sites that are owned or substantially supported by the NSCDA and our corporate societies. Great American Treasures amplifies the depth and breadth of the NSCDA’s preservation efforts throughout the country and demonstrates the value of preservation as a means for teaching history. Our organization is working to broaden the lens through which we view history to tell a more diverse and therefore more complete history of our country. Through our organization’s preservation efforts and genealogical resources, we hope to inspire current and future generations to see themselves in our nation’s ongoing story.