History Lessons
You don’t always have to learn about history from a text book. Immerse yourself into early-American history, centuries-old gardens, and historic preservation by digging deeper into what we’re learning at Dumbarton House.
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History of the Home
Federal Style (1790 -1830)
Dumbarton House is fine example of Federal period architecture. Our nation’s early years, from 1790 to 1830, generally define the Federal period. During this time, ...
History of the Home
Dolley Madison
Dining with Dolley In Dumbarton House’s Nourse family letter collection are invitations from President Jefferson, for whom Dolley often served as hostess while James was ...
History of the Home
Joseph Nourse (1754-1841)
America’s First Civil Servant As first Register of the Treasury, Joseph Nourse was a highly respected and distinguished civil servant. With a career that spanned 40 ...
History of the Home
Chronology
1703 The Maryland Assembly grants Scottish immigrant Ninian Beall a tract of 795 acres for his services “[against] all incursions and disturbances of neighboring Indians.” ...
History of the Home
Samuel Jackson Goes to Washington
While Dumbarton House bases much of its interpretation around its understanding of the Nourse family, there is a another entity who holds outsized influence on ...
History of the Home
Architectural Q and A
Questions and Answers previously compiled by staff, volunteers, and interns. Was there a barn out back? A horse and buggy (carriage)? A stable? Although we ...