In the year 1800 the Dumbarton House, a Federal style house located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C. was constructed. The very first occupant of the Dumbarton House was Joseph Nourse, who was also the first register of the Treasury, he remained so for the first six presidents of the United States. In 1928 the home was purchased by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, and opened to the public in 1932. The president at the time of completion of the Dumbarton House was John Admas and Thomas Jefferson.

The property was built on a large tract of land patented in 1703 by an immigrant Scot, Ninian Beall. This land was originally named “Rock of Dumbarton” in tribute to Beall’s homeland. In 1798 developer Samuel Jackson bought 4.5 acres of “Rock of Dumbarton” and began to construct the property that eventually became known as “Cedar Hill.” In order to build this house and others in the area, Jackson employed craftsmen who had flocked to the new Federal city after its creation in 1791. Although construction began in approximately 1799, work was halted when Jackson went bankrupt. Not having an intended owner for the house, it went up for public auction, and eventually was acquired by Joseph Nourse, first Register of the U.S. Treasury. Nourse completed construction of the home and he and his family lived at “Cedar Hill” from 1804-1813. In 1813, the home was bought and renamed “Belle Vue” by Charles Carroll. During Carroll’s residence, the house would host Dolley Madison on August 24, 1814, during her flight from the White House and British invaders.

The Dumbarton House Museum is beautifully restored with displays of collections of the Federal Period furniture, paintings, textiles, silver and ceramics. According to Fiske Kimball a architectural historian the Dumbarton House is one of the finest and most beautiful houses in the U.S. The Dumbarton House reflects the Adameque style of architecture of the early Republic, and has a outstanding collection of Federal period art.

Today the Dumbarton House Museum is one of the few stately brick homes in Washington that has survived the heady days when the country and its capital were new. The house was built on land above Rock Creek. Bought and renamed “Belle Vue” by Charles Carroll, the house would host Dolley Madison on August 24, 1814, during her flight from the White House and British invaders. In 1915 when the Dumbarton (“Q Street”) Bridge was built over Rock Creek, the house was moved 100 feet to its present site, to allow the extension of Q Street into Georgetown.

Anyone who visits the house today will see a, wealth of furniture, paintings, textiles, silver and ceramics that were made and used in the republic’s formative years.