What are the opening hours?

Friday 10am - 3pm Saturday 10am - 3pm Sunday 10am - 3pm

Dumbarton House

Name: Dumbarton House
Address: 2715 Q Street NW, Washington D.C., DC, 20007, US
Telephone: (202) 337-2288
Price range: £
Rating: 4.4

Welcome to Dumbarton House, a 1799 Federal period historic house museum in Georgetown, DC.

Dumbarton House serves as the headquarters of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America. The mission of Dumbarton House, headquarters of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, is to support the organization’s Corporate Societies and their members, to maintain its historic museum property, and to enhance the cultural life of Washington, D.C. Through the interpretation of

its historic site and collections, Dumbarton House promotes the understanding of historic preservation and of the early history of our nation, so that the lives and ideals of early Americans inspire present and future generations.

Temporarily closed

01/01/2023

Happy New Year from all of us at Dumbarton House! 🎇 We are looking forward to an exciting new year in 2023! We look forward to seeing you soon!

12/31/2022

One of the ways that people in the 19th century would have celebrated the coming of the new year would have been with wassailing. Wassail is a warmed, mulled cider or wine, which would then be carried in a large bowl. People would walk from house to house, singing songs and offering a warm drink in exchange for treats or gifts. The origins of wassailing are quite old - it was a popular practice in medieval Britain, with some tracing its roots to pre-Christian Europe. Today, the practice has mostly been replaced with caroling, but nothing stops you from enjoying a nice bowl of wassail and caroling!

Image: The Wassail Bowl. From the December 22, 1860, issue of The Illustrated London News

12/29/2022

Some say that for the new year, you should put out the old and bring in the new! Since we're a museum, we generally like to keep our old things - but change is afoot at Dumbarton House! With some help from our friends at Tudor Place Historic House & Garden we took down our old exhibitions and put them into storage while we prep our new Education Center this winter. There will be loads of new stuff in the spring but plenty of old things as well.

P.S. Can you spot Joe supervising? 😉

12/27/2022

It sure is chilly outside! 🥶 To help keep themselves warm, people in the 19th century relied heavily on their fireplaces. 🔥If you use a fireplace regularly, you'll also recognize this item: a pair of bellows! Bellows help stoke fires by giving them extra oxygen to help them burn. Not all bellows in the 19th century would have been decorated like this painted pair, but it does add a bit of fancy flair while trying to flare up the fire! 😉

12/25/2022

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours from all of us here at Dumbarton House! We wish you all the best this holiday and all those in this holiday season!🎄🎁❄️🎅☃️

12/24/2022

Merry Christmas Eve from everyone here at Dumbarton House. In the 19th century, Christmas was often enjoyed with a large feast. And while we haven't been able to decorate the museum with the Christmas feast we usually do, we did want to share this lovely video of our table from last year. Sit back with a warm drink tonight and enjoy the holiday! ❄️🎄🎅🎁

12/22/2022

We hope everyone had a wonderful solstice yesterday! While you may be unable to tell by the rain here in Washington D.C., it is now officially winter! We may not have snow on the ground now, but that doesn't mean we won't be dreaming of it! Stay safe and tucked in today! ❄️

12/20/2022

This winter, while the museum is closed, our staff is going on a bunch of enrichment trips to gain knowledge and inspiration for our interpretation! Last week, we visited President Lincoln's Cottage for a wonderful tour and discussion with their staff! It was an excellent time for us, and we look forward to hosting their team in our newly renovated spaces in the spring!

12/18/2022

Happy National Twins Day to our twin, Dumbarton Oaks!👯 We have similar names and were built around the same time (Dumbarton Oaks was built in 1801, while Dumbarton House was finished in 1800), and both were renovated and turned into museums in the early 20th century. People confuse our museums and gardens, and will show up at one looking for the other. So here are some quick differences: Dumbarton Oaks is owned by Harvard University, while the NSCDA owns Dumbarton House. Dumbarton Oaks focuses their museum Byzantine and Pre-Columbian art, while we at Dumbarton House are a historic house museum focusing on the Federal Period and Washington D.C. as the early capital of the United States. Finally, Dumbarton Oaks has a 16-acre, early 20th-century style garden, while Dumbarton House's gardens are about an acre (still very nice for the city! 😉) and consist of a Federal-style garden, a 1990s minimalist park, and an herb garden.

12/18/2022

Here's a very scary reminder that TONIGHT is the time for a Very Scary Christmas! 👻🎄 Join us at 8:00 pm for a virtual program, and help us resurrect the holiday tradition of telling ghost stories. We will share spooky stories from the museum’s past, hear from attendees, and call upon the expertise of a professional ghost storyteller. Tickets are $5; you can reserve a spot via our link in bio!

12/17/2022

Today is National Wreaths Across America Day! Last week, the Mt. Zion-Female Union Band Historic Memorial Park and the DC Dames had their 2nd Annual Wreath Laying at the Mt.Zion and Female Union Band cemeteries, the oldest black cemeteries in Washington, DC. Seventy wreaths were donated by the Dames to be laid on graves at the cemeteries and raised $3000 for donation. The excellent staff of the Memorial Park took visitors on walking tours about the history of the cemeteries and their role in the Underground Railroad. Here is a collection of pictures from the past two years of this wonderful partnership. Thank you to Mt. Zion-Female Union Band Historic Memorial Park for letting us share your beautiful photos of this year's event!

12/16/2022

Did you set a reminder for tonight? 🔔 Our Programs Manager, Mary Lesher, will be streaming from Facebook and Instagram as she attempts to make a Yorkshire Christmas Pye! The same kind of pie would typically be seated in the center of our dining table during Christmas here at Dumbarton House. Tune in TONIGHT at 5:30 to see if Mary can take on the pye challenge! 🥧

12/14/2022

Today's has to be one of our favorite photographs of our north garden - our unique bowed walls, paired with those delicate lights, provide the perfect setting for an outdoor dinner. Repost Kate Headley

12/13/2022

Did you know that in the 19th century, Christmas was a time for telling scary stories? Join us on December 18th at 8 pm as we rekindle the tradition! Get a cup of cocoa and tune in for virtual scary stories told by a professional storyteller! For more information, click our link in bio!

12/11/2022

Making a dish like this is going to be a piece of Pye! Or will it??? Join our Programs Manager, Mary Lesher, this Friday at 5:30 pm as she attempts to make a Yorkshire Christmas Pye! Typically at holiday time, Dumbarton House is adorned in decoration and set for a feast. But since we're closed for construction this season, Mary has decided to take on the challenge of making this great pie at home! Tune in on Facebook or Instagram Live to see if she succeeds! For more info, click our link in bio!

12/09/2022

It may not officially be winter yet, but it sure does feel like it! ☃️❄️ Are you looking forward to a snowy winter, like in this picture from our collections? This watercolor painting is of the Morris family home outside of Philidelphia. Rebecca Morris married the Nourses' son Charles, and both families were close with Dolley Madison. This snowy scene makes us want to cuddle up with a nice mug of hot chocolate! ☕🍫

12/07/2022

Did you know that today is National Letter Writing Day? 📝 We have many letters in our collections from the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, we'd like to share this one! This letter was written in June of 1773 from William Nourse to his brother James Nourse (called 'Jaimmy' in the letter). The letter reads in part,
"Dear Brother

You canst in reason think me very long in answering your letter for upon looking at ye date of your last; I find it is not quite nineteen months since it was written. I will endeavour to be a better correspondent in future."

Apparently, William Nourse was not very good at remembering to answer his letters! Take some time today to write a letter to someone you care about today!

12/04/2022

Yum yum yum! It's National Cookie Day! 😋🍪 In the 18th and early 19th centuries, an early version of cookies were known as 'jumbles.' Usually, when we're setting the Dining Room for the holidays, we include a plate of cookies or jumbles, as shown in this image. We have many different recipes for jumbles, even one in Martha Washington's cookbook. Another recipe, in Mary Randolph's "A Virginia Housewife" (1826), gives very simple instructions: "Put one pound of nice sugar into two pounds of flour, add pounded spice of any kind, and pass them through a sieve; beat four eggs, pour them on with three quarters of a pound of melted butter, knead all well together, and bake them." Would you try this recipe? What is your favorite type of cookie? 🍪

12/02/2022

While we may be closed to the public this winter ☃️, it won't stop is from having some great programs! Join us this month for two super fun virtual, holiday-based programs! ❄️🎄🎁 For more information, visit our website or click the link in our bio!

12/01/2022

As the museum prepares to undergo renovations, staff has been at work taking down our exhibitions and storing artifacts safely in collections. Here is a little peek behind the scenes as Collections Manager Sammie removes signs from the wall and carefully moves collection items from their cases to put them on a cart for transport into storage!

11/29/2022

This please consider donating to Dumbarton House! This year, we are undergoing major changes and construction. Your donation will help us support our new Visitor's Center, Education wing, and exhibitions. Supporting Dumbarton House will help us create wonderful new education programs and exhibitions that explore the history of Washington D.C., and the early years of the American republic! For more information about Dumbarton House and our mission, or to donate, please visit our website at DumbartonHouse.org or via the link in our bio!

11/29/2022

in 1802, President Thomas Jefferson wrote an invitation to the Nourse family. He asked "Mr., Mrs., and Miss Nourse" to visit him the following Wednesday, December 1st for dinner. The invitation today lives in our collections!

11/22/2022

It's official! We are entering hibernation here at Dumbarton House! 😴We will be closed to the public until March while we undergo construction onsite!🚧🛠️But have no fear; we will still have plenty of virtual programs this winter and will keep you updated on our progress here on social media. Stay tuned!

11/20/2022

Have you seen the ginkgo tree in our front garden? Every fall, it turns a beautiful golden before it drops its leaves - it's a staff favorite to admire from office windows! The tree was planted in 1998 in honor of Linda Mattingly, a former Dumbarton House director. Come enjoy the ginkgo's beauty today in the gardens before we close for construction tomorrow!

11/18/2022

Sit back and enjoy a nice drink today - it's National Apple Cider Day! In the 18th and 19th centuries, apples were harvested in the fall and preserved for the rest of the year. One of the methods of preservation was pressing cider. Though we in America today might be more familiar with nonalcoholic cider, the term meant fermented or 'hard' cider in that period. Whether you enjoy alcoholic or non, hot or cold, enjoy some cider today and savor the taste of fall apples!

Image 1: Watercolor of an Apple Blossom with Leaves, c. 1840

Image 2: Excerpt 'To make Cyder' from The Compleat Houfewife: or, Accomplifs’d Gentlewoman’s Companion, Eliza Smith, 1727.

11/17/2022

This is our last open weekend before we shut down for winter construction! If you want to tour Dumbarton House or get gifts from our gift shop, make sure you stop in Friday, Saturday, or Sunday between 10 am and 3 pm! We'll update you on the construction status right here on social media!

11/16/2022

Did you know that November is Native American Heritage month?This month we recognize and celebrate the diverse cultures and heritages of the Native People of North America who reside throughout the United States. The Native tribe that originally inhabited Washington, D.C. were the Nacotchtank people, who would eventually be absorbed into the larger Piscataway tribe after contact with Europeans. The word Nacotchtank can be translated to mean "a town of traders," which is very descriptive of their position along two rivers, which helped them to be a major center of trade in the region. It is also where we get the word Anacostia, which names a river and a neighborhood in D.C. today. To learn more about Native Americans and how to celebrate Native American Heritage month, check out nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov or the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

Image 1: John Smith's Map of the Chesapeake Bay, 1612. Library of Congress,

Image 2: Twenty-three-year-old Virginia Algonquian man, 1645. Library of Congress

11/15/2022

Happy Veterans Day! Have you heard about the Veterans History Project? It is a program that the NSCDA has been working on in the Library of Congress to record the oral histories and first-hand accounts of war veterans from the World Wars to current military conflicts. In addition to the Veterans History Project, the Dames have also been a part of the VetDogs program, which helps train and provide service dogs to veterans, active-duty service members, and first responders with disabilities so that they can live their lives with dignity and independence, no matter their physical or mental injuries. The pictures we're sharing today were taken at the 2022 NSCDA Biennial conference, where Dames met and interviewed some of the participating veterans and VetDogs!

11/14/2022

Join Dwane Starlin, member of the Guild of Professional Tour Guides, for a meander through Georgetown on November 19th from 10-12. Learn about the homes and neighborhood spots frequented by President Kennedy and Jackie during their years in Washington. See where the couple became engaged, their Georgetown home, and where Jackie stayed after JFK’s assassination in 1963. Get tickets for the walking tour today via our website or link in bio!

11/10/2022

Our museum and offices will be closed tomorrow, November 11, 2022, in observance of the Veterans Day holiday. Come see us on Saturday and Sunday this weekend!

11/09/2022

Our grand historic entrance is typically closed for visitors but can be open on your wedding day to add that extra bit of splendor! repost from

11/08/2022

Today is Election Day! Voting in the Federal Period was very different from how we go to the polls today. Political parties were only beginning to form, and many politicians bribed voters with freebies and liquor at the polling booths. This made elections difficult to predict and polling booths to be something more akin to a party. In order to vote today, you must be a citizen of the United States, at least 18 years old, and a resident of the state in which you are voting. In the early 19th century, there were many more restrictions. When the Constitution was first ratified, only white, land-owning men could vote. Over time, there was a greater call for the expansion of suffrage. First, the requirement for land ownership was revoked. The 13th, 14th, 15th, and 24th Amendments contributed to voting rights for Black Americans. The 19th Amendment allowed women to vote. And the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. Other laws and movements were also pivotal in guaranteeing the right to vote to countless other minorities. All their work guarantees your voice at the poll today. Take advantage of your right and vote!

11/06/2022

Our Fall Makers Market is coming up THIS Saturday, November 12th! Get a jump on your holiday shopping and support local businesses throughout the Dumbarton House grounds selling handmade goods, locally sourced items, art, stationery, home goods & more!! The Market will be open from 10 am to 3 pm, and is sure to be a great day with LOADS of exciting items to choose from! Come stop by and see!

11/05/2022

Today is National Bison Day! Have you seen the Bison statues at the Q street bridge, also known as Dumbarton Bridge or Buffalo Bridge? (whew, that's a lot of names! 😅) It was built in 1914-15 to connect the neighborhoods of DuPont Circle and Georgetown with Q Street. The bridge is decorated with four massive bronze buffalo statues, sculpted by Alexander Phimister Proctor. While the inspiration for the bridge was Roman architecture, with a healthy dose of nostalgia for the American West, did you know that the historical range of the bison also would have included what is now Washington D.C.? Imagine a bison standing nose to nose with that bronze statue! 😮❗

10/31/2022

Happy Halloween from Dumbarton House! 🎃🧛🧟👻🍬 We often get asked if the house is haunted. While there aren't any modern tales, a 19th-century visitor to the house reported seeing a ghostly figure one dark and stormy night.

10/30/2022

Celebrate Visit a Cemetary Day by visiting our neighbors: Mt. Zion United Methodist/Female Union Band Cemetery and Oak Hill Cemetery. The Mt. Zion and Female Union Band Society cemeteries were active from 1808 to the 1950s. These cemeteries serve as the final resting place for members of neighborhood methodist congregations, primarily those of the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, the oldest Black Congregation in DC, which split from the integrated Methodist Church due to discrimination. The Female Union Band Society provided monetary relief for Black and Native American women when they were sick and ensured they received a proper burial in death. These two cemeteries lie side by side to the east of Dumbarton House. Oak Hill Cemetery was established as a segregated cemetery in 1848 as part of the rural cemetery movement. It was a spacious and beautiful cemetery intended to encourage people to visit, stroll and even picnic among the gravesites. Oak Hill cemetery is the final home of many famous names in DC history and the Renwick Chapel. Check out their websites to learn more!

Address

2715 Q Street NW
Washington D.C., DC
20007

Metrorail: Red Line, DuPont Circle’s Q Street exit. Metrobus: D-1, D-2, D-3, D-6 to 27th Street stop. DC Circulator’s Georgetown connection, 30th Street, NW stop.

General information

Due to the ever-evolving situation regarding the COVID-19 virus and in an effort to help cut potential community exposure Dumbarton House Museum will be closed March 14 through March 30. We will continue to monitor the situation and make further evaluations regarding additional closures as we get closer to March 30. It is important to us as a member of the community to ensure we are doing everything possible to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our visitors and staff. While we are closed the museum staff will conduct a thorough deep clean of the museum in preparation for reopening. Please keep in touch with us through our website and social media platforms for all updates. Our offices are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. Dumbarton House staff will be working remotely from March 16th onward. Staff will be accessible through email and phone.

Opening Hours

Friday	10am - 3pm
Saturday	10am - 3pm
Sunday	10am - 3pm

Telephone

(202) 337-2288

Website

http://dumbartonhouse.org

Alerts

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Videos

Preservation is in progress at Dumbarton House this summer! We are working on the restoration of the Best Chamber, the primary bedroom in the house. Last week Sammie, our Collections Manager, and Jerry, our Historic Site Director, disassembled and removed all the furnishings. With these historic collections objects out of the way and safely stored, removal of the wallpaper and repairs to the plaster are taking place. Check back soon for an update on this exciting process!

Collections Manager Sammie is preparing to build something… what could it be? During our January closure, Sammie has a chance to work with pieces on display and complete other special tasks. Tune back in a few weeks from now to see the final product!

Special arrival for our Power in Preservation Exhibit

Welcome Back to Dumbarton House!

Galentine's Day on NEWS4!

How to use a "microspatula"

Dumbarton House Website

Docent Letter Reading

Whirligig

English Country Dance Performers at Dolley Days 2017

Disaster Planning Seminar Part 1

Disaster Planning Seminar Part 4

Disaster Planning Seminar Part 3

Disaster Planning Seminar Part 2

Comments

23 WASHINGTON DC WEDDING VENUES UNDER $5,000

Looking for affordable Washington DC wedding venue options?
Our curated list includes: venue features, pricing, max guest count, and links for more information.

Arts Club of Washington, Atlas Performing Arts Center, The Darcy, City Tavern Club, Toro Toro DC, The Beacon Hotel and Corporate Quarters, Busboys and Poets, The Gryphon, Clyde's of Gallery Place, IA&A at Hillyer, El Centro, Washington DC, Carmine's Italian Restaurant - Washington DC, Chophouse&brewery, Ristorante Piccolo, Lost Society, Historic Rosemont Manor, Dumbarton House, Friends Meeting of Washington, Viceroy Washington DC, Maggiano's, HQO Events

Some of the the characters you'll meet this week in PTC's Sunset Boulevard at Dumbarton House . Wednesday is sold out. Friday nearly so!

All three nights WILL sell out. Get your tix now! https://dumbartonhouse.ticketleap.com/picnic-theater-company-sunset-boulevard/

PTC's John the Baptist is a little bit more judgmental than you might expect! 🙏

Sunset Boulevard tickets are on sale now for next Wed, Thur, and Fri (Nov 2, 3, 4) at Dumbarton House! https://dumbartonhouse.ticketleap.com/picnic-theater-company-sunset-boulevard/

Meet Judy, Paramount Pictures employee and assistant to director Cecil B. DeMille.

PTC's Sunset Boulevard tickets are on sale now for next Wed, Thur, and Fri (Nov 2, 3, 4) at Dumbarton House. https://dumbartonhouse.ticketleap.com/picnic-theater-company-sunset-boulevard/

Meet yesteryear's silent screen queen Norma Desmond, who is convinced that her legions of fans are still out there waiting for her.

PTC's Sunset Boulevard tickets are on sale now for next Wed, Thur, and Fri (Nov 2, 3, 4) at Dumbarton House! https://dumbartonhouse.ticketleap.com/picnic-theater-company-sunset-boulevard/

From our nation's founding, women have played a pivotal role in historic preservation. In Washington, DC, many key historic sites only exist for visitors and researchers today thanks to the dedication of women who fought to preserve them. Join us for a virtual salon presented in conjunction with our partner, Dumbarton House, for a look at the history behind the history!

Sunday Oct 30th 7:00 PM
Promo code: TOHOFRIEND1022
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/385968561357

Your narrator and protagonist in Sunset Boulevard, struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis.

Tickets on sale now for next Wed, Thur, and Fri (Nov 2, 3, 4) at Dumbarton House! https://dumbartonhouse.ticketleap.com/picnic-theater-company-sunset-boulevard/

Join King Herod and French silent film star Jean Dujardin in the ballroom at Dumbarton House for SUNSET BOULEVARD next Wed, Thurs, and Friday November 2, 3, 4!

Tix now on sale at dumbartonhouse.ticketleap.com/picnic-theater-company-sunset-boulevard/

While we continue to rehearse furiously tickets have gone on sale for The Picnic Theatre Company's presentation of Lux Radio's SUNSET BOULEVARD at Dumbarton House!

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th!

TICKETS: https://dumbartonhouse.ticketleap.com/picnic-theater-company-sunset-boulevard/

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Starting at Dumbarton House, A Tour Of Her Own strolls through Georgetown with WILD WOMEN OF GEORGETOWN, 10/2 at 2pm
"Fierce preservationists, public figures, and famous starlets have called Georgetown home. On this stroll through historic Georgetown, guides from A Tour of Her Own (TOHO) will highlight stories of the women who built and shaped this neighborhood. Spies and ghosts are just a few of the scandalous stories told about figures such as Jacqueline Kennedy, Julia Child, and Katherine Graham, owner of the Washington Post."
https://dumbartonhouse.org/
Register here: https://dumbartonhouse.ticketleap.com/wild-women-of-georgetown-walking-tour-2/

Things have been crazy over at EBG! Let’s just say, thank goodness it’s almost Friday 😃 Enjoy this photo of beautiful Roxanne ♥️ enjoy your weekend!

Venue: Dumbarton House
Photo:
H/MU: Royal Makeup & Hair
Dress: Global Bridal Gallery

♥️

Thanks to everyone for coming out to PTC's sold-out performances of The Manchurian Candidate at Dumbarton House and Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House, and the special performance at the residence of the Ambassador of Ireland (Embassy & Consulates of Ireland USA).

We had a wonderful time. See you in November for our next show!

We loved being able to plan and witness two wonderful celebrations for Meredith and Alex. Last November they had a family only wedding ceremony, followed by a yacht dinner on the Potomac, and this May they had their bigger celebration with extended family and friends from all walks of life at the lovely Dumbarton House.

Not only were Meredith and Alex wonderful clients, their son Mack was so adorable!

Venue: Dumbarton House
Photography: Kerry Renee Photography
Florals: Helen Olivia Flowers
Stationery: Flourishing Penguin
Band: Big Ray and the Kool Kats
Rentals: Event Rentals DC

VCP staff from the Alexandria lab will be participating in the Day of Archaeology Festival hosted by Archaeology in the Community tomorrow, Saturday, July 16th at the Dumbarton House!

Come see us and check out many other great organizations involved in archaeology in the region. There will be lots of fun activities for the whole family. See you there!