National Society Of Colonial Dames Of America

TO PROMOTE NATIONAL HERITAGE THROUGH HISTORIC PRESERVATION, PATRIOTIC SERVICE AND EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS.

THE MASSACHUSETTS COLONIAL DAMES OWNS OR OPERATES THREE HISTORIC HOUSES IN MASSACHUSETTS - THE PRESCOTT HOUSE IN BOSTON, QUINCY HOMESTEAD IN QUINCY, AND MARTIN HOUSE FARM IN SWANSEA. OUR PROPERTIES ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FROM MAY TO NOVEMBER AND AT OTHER TIMES BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.PRESCOTT HOUSE:REFERRED TO AS A "NEIGHBORHOOD HIDDEN GEM" BY THE BEACON HILL TIMES. THIS BEAUTIFUL MANSION IS LOCATED ACROSS FROM THE BOSTON COMMON. VOTED IN 2018, ONE OF THE TOP 8 EXAMPLES OF FEDERAL ARCHITECTURE BY BOSTON CURBED AND ONE OF THE SEVEN BOSTON HOUSE MUSEUMS TO VISIT BY BOSTON MAGAZINE, THE WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT HOUSE, AT 55 BEACON STREET, AND THE ADJOINING HOME AT 54 BEACON STREET, WERE BUILT IN 1808 FOR THE BOSTON MERCHANT, JAMES SMITH COLBURN. THESE FEDERAL PERIOD TWIN HOUSES OVERLOOK BOSTON COMMON. THE LAND WAS ONCE OWNED BY JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, AMERICA'S MOST ACCOMPLISHED COLONIAL PORTRAIT PAINTER.QUINCY HOMESTEAD:A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK, THE QUINCY HOMESTEAD IS SIGNIFICANT FOR ITS ROLE IN EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY, FOR ITS ARCHITECTURE, AND FOR ITS QUINCY FAMILY ASSOCIATION. THE PROPERTY, LOCATED AT THE CORNER OF HANCOCK STREET AND BUTLER ROAD, IS PART OF THE ORIGINAL LAND THAT EDMUND QUINCY ACQUIRED FOR A FARM IN THE 1630S. THE PRESENT HOUSE, DATING FROM 1686, WAS ENLARGED AND ENHANCED OVER A PERIOD OF MORE THAN 200 YEARS. ITS MAJESTIC GEORGIAN FRONTISPIECE AND GAMBREL ROOF, WITH DISTINCTIVE DORMER WINDOWS, GIVE THE BUILDING A STATELY AND SUBSTANTIAL APPEARANCE.THE HOMESTEAD SERVED AS A HOME FOR FIVE GENERATIONS OF QUINCYS, ONE OF THE LEADING FAMILIES OF MASSACHUSETTS. THEIR PROGENY INCLUDE PRESIDENT JOHN QUINCY ADAMS AND DR. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. LEADING UP TO THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, THE RESIDENCE WAS A MEETING PLACE FOR MANY AMERICAN PATRIOTS SUCH AS JOHN ADAMS, JOSIAH QUINCY AND JOHN HANCOCK. THE HOUSE WAS ALSO THE CHILDHOOD HOME OF DOROTHY QUINCY HANCOCK, THE FIRST FIRST LADY OF MASSACHUSETTS, THE WIFE OF JOHN HANCOCK, THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, THE FIRST SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, AND THE FIRST GOVERNOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH.MARTIN HOUSE FARM:THE MARTIN HOUSE FARM IS A RARE EXAMPLE OF AN 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURY FARM WHICH STILL RETAINS THE CHARACTER OF ITS ORIGINAL SETTING. IT CONSISTS OF THE HOUSE, TWO BARNS AND CULTIVATED FIELDS SURROUNDED BY DRY STONE WALLS AND WOODLANDS. THE HOME WAS LIVED IN CONTINUOUSLY BY MEMBERS OF THE MARTIN FAMILY FOR OVER 200 YEARS. IN 1930 IT WAS GIVEN TO THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS BY SUSAN TABER MARTIN ALLIEN, AN EIGHTH-GENERATION MARTIN AND A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK SOCIETY OF THE COLONIAL DAMES. IN 1979 THE MARTIN HOUSE FARM WAS PLACED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, AN OFFICIAL LIST OF CULTURAL RESOURCES WORTHY OF PRESERVATION.WE ALSO MAINTAIN AN IMPORTANT COSTUME COLLECTION (ANTIQUE WOMEN'S CLOTHING COLLECTION). WE REGULARLY DISPLAY SELECTED ITEMS FROM OUR COSTUME COLLECTION IN OUR HOUSES, AND OFFER SPECIAL EXHIBITS FROM TIME TO TIME. OUR COSTUME COLLECTION IS OPEN TO PEOPLE DOING RESEARCH IN THE FIELD, AND APPROPRIATE ITEMS CAN BE LOANED TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS FOR SPECIAL EVENTS.WE SPONSOR OR HOST PROJECTS RELATED TO PATRIOTIC SERVICE, SUCH AS A RECEPTION FOR VETERANS. WE ARE ONE OF 44 STATE SOCIETIES OF THE NATIONAL NSCDA. THROUGH THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION WE CONTRIBUTE TO AN INDIAN NURSE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY, A HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST, AND THE SUPPORT OF THREE NATIONAL HISTORIC HOUSES. WE PARTICIPATE IN THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION'S NATIONAL PORTRAIT SURVEY AND THE NDCSA'S HISTORIC SAMPLER SURVEY, EACH OF WHICH ADDS TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF OUR PAST.