We are happy you are here and hope you find the links, materials and photographs useful, inspiring and informative.
As an organization, we preserve colonial history as material culture such as buildings and artifacts. We also preserve the past that persists in ideas, diaries. minutes and contemporaneous news stories. We endeavor to illuminate the echoes of the past in the present and engage in critical discussion and analysis.
Rhode Island is the smallest state. It has a long and complicated coast line. The geography of the state informed our past as a maritime colony where it was possible to see more of your neighbor in colonial Charleston, South Carolina than in the streets of Providence.
Ours is a history of the sea. It is also a history of entrepreneurship, radical idealism, and the paradox of religious freedom and enslavement.
Explore our website. We are delighted to share it with you.
The Rhode Island Society is one of 42 affiliated NSCDA organizations around the United States. The organization was founded in 1891 and has grown to over 15,000 members. National headquarters for the organization is at Dumbarton House in Washington DC. To learn more about programs at the national level, go to nscda.org.
Membership in the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Rhode , Island is based on descent from an ancestor male or female who, living in one of the original 13 colonies, rendered service to the country during the Colonial period (before 1776), contributing to
the founding of our nation. For a list of qualifying ancestors, click here.
Each candidate for membership submits documentation regarding descent from a qualifying ancestor that includes providing verification of that descent with primary and or/substitute sources. Upon submission to the Registrar of the Rhode Island Society, the documents are reviewed, completion is confirmed, and forwarded to the Society’s verifying genealogist for final approval. Documents are approved by the Colonial State of the qualifying ancestor. Please begin by reviewing our prospective members page.
The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Rhode Island is an organization that promotes the study of American history and preservation of historic sites. The society, founded in 1894, maintains two historic properties: the Stephen Hopkins House in Providence and the Whitehall Museum House in Middletown.
In addition to preserving historic sites, the Colonial Dames also support educational programs that teach young people about American history and the values of good citizenship. They offer scholarships and awards to students who have shown excellence in American history and participate in community service projects related to historic preservation. Through their work, the Colonial Dames help to keep alive the memory of Rhode Island’s colonial past, and encourage future generations to appreciate the rich history of their state.
Young architect Charles McKim was introduced to Newport’s colonial architecture in the 1870’s. He was smitten with the elegant simplicity and marveled at shingle work that blended into the topography.
A noted example is Whitehall’s “cat slide roof.” The photo was published in the December 1874 issue of Sketchbook, a short-lived architectural publication he edited. McKim, it is claimed, kept a copy of this photograph above his office desk.
