The July 2007 issue of The Magazine ANTIQUES was dedicated to The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America. Writers Nancy Douthat Goss and Alexandra West Rollins in “The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America: The first 116 years” praise the Dames as educators of the public on the significance of American history and laud their efforts as stewards who lend furnishings to historical buildings and museums throughout the country. The Antiques dedication issue reviews museum properties, furnishings and collections from the forty-five states that make up the NSCDA.

According to Antiques Editor Wendell Garrett, women prior to 1868 had more private roles in the home; after that date, they began to play a more public role in honoring and preserving America’s history and patriotic spirit.  One important influence on American women in 1876 was their participation in the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia to celebrate the Declaration of Independence.  As a result, in 1891 in Philadelphia, independent and patriotic women established NSCDA, bringing women to the forefront in preserving the history and  ideals of the Founders. Garrett dedicates the Antiques issue to the NSCDA’s “selfless contribution” to the American heritage.

The West Virginia Society was launched in 1900, eleven years after the  founding of NSCDA.

Read about the first WV Colonial Dames project: COLONIAL MARKERS.