DAR Headquarters will be closed from March 16 to March 20. We will reopen on March 21. 

View a DAR Did You Know slide show.

  • The DAR Museum was founded in 1890 as a repository for family treasures. Today, the museum contains over 30,000 historical relics that form a collective memory of the decorative and fine arts in America from 1700-1850.
  • The DAR Library was founded in 1896 as a collection of genealogical and historical publications for the use of staff genealogists verifying application papers for the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. Shortly after 1900 the growing collection was opened to the public and has remained so ever since.
     
  • The U.S. Army appointed DAR member, Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee, as Acting Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army, in charge of nurses. She organized the DAR Hospital Corps, Army Nurse Corps, and served as NSDAR's first Librarian General.
     
  • The DAR Hospital Corps certified 1,081 nurses for service during the Spanish-American War. DAR later funded pensions for many of these nurses who did not qualify for government pensions.
     
  • During the Spanish-American War, DAR purchased a ship's tender for the USS Missouri to be used as a hospital launch for transporting the wounded from shore to ship.
     
  • To help with the war effort during World War I, DAR loaned its National Headquarters land to the United States. The federal government used the land to erect a temporary war office building that provided office space for 600 people.
     
  • After World War I, DAR funded the reconstruction of the water system in the village of Tilloloy, France, and donated more than $130,000 for the support of 3,600 French war orphans.
     
  • DAR provided materials for sewing, wood, and leatherwork to the immigrants detained for processing on Ellis Island. This helped to alleviate the depression and anxiety of these men and women who were strangers in a new land.
     
  • In 1921, DAR compiled and published the "DAR Manual for Citizenship." DAR distributed this guide to American immigrants at Ellis Island and other ports of entry. To date, more than 10 million manuals have been distributed.
     
  • From November 1921 until February 1922, world leaders met in DAR Memorial Continental Hall for the Conference on Limitation of Armaments, a groundbreaking meeting for peace.
     
  • The Americana Collection, founded in the early 1940s, brought together rare manuscripts and imprints previously scattered among the holdings of the DAR Museum and DAR Library. Today, the collection flourishes from more than 60 years of actively seeking out and acquiring artifacts that reflect a unique image of our nation.
     
  • DAR raised thousands of dollars to assist in the re-forestation project of the U.S. Forestry Service during the 1940s.
  • During World War II, DAR provided 197,000 soldiers with care packages and sponsored all 89 crews of Landing Craft Infantry ships.
     
  • During World War II, the use of the DAR buildings was given to the American Red Cross. A children's day nursery was set up in the basement of Constitution Hall for enlisted men's wives who had to go to work.
     
  • The tradition of celebrating the Constitution was started many years ago by the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1955, the DAR petitioned Congress to set aside September 17-23 annually to be dedicated for the observance of Constitution Week. The resolution was later adopted by the U.S. Congress and signed into Public Law #915 on August 2, 1956, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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Upcoming Events

  • Esther Perel
    - 8:00 PM
  • Heilung
    - 8:00 PM
  • John Mellencamp
    - 8:00 PM
  • Saturday Morning Cartoons
  • Women’s History Costume Party
  • Crystal Bowl Sound Bath

Learn how DAR members selflessly and tirelessly dedicated themselves to the war relief effort of World War I

Find special initiative opportunities for every interest and every budget!