COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA

What COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA does

The Colonial Dames of America is a non-profit membership society founded in 1890 and headquartered at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden at 417-421 East 61st Street in New York City. The organization operates as the oldest genealogical society for women in the United States, with membership offered by invitation to women who can document ancestors holding colonial-era public office or military commissions. Its core operational asset is the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, one of seven oldest buildings in Manhattan and New York City's only surviving day hotel, presenting eight furnished period rooms and a Victorian-era garden to public visitors Tuesday through Sunday.

The organization generates revenue across four streams: museum admissions, site rentals (the Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium for events up to 200 guests and historic period rooms for groups up to 50), gift shop merchandise (cookbooks, silk scarves, embroidered totes, and note cards priced from $12.95 to $125), and invitation-based membership dues. Beyond direct operations, the CDA funds graduate fellowships at the Graduate Center of CUNY, the Omohundro Institute at the College of William and Mary, and Historic Jamestowne Rediscovery, and presents an annual book award for American history non-fiction. Thirty-six affiliated chapters across the United States and Europe (San Francisco to Rome) independently fund local preservation projects, coordinated through an annual President's Award for Excellence. The organization employs 6 staff, operates without any technology or AI product surface, and is governed entirely by its membership without parent companies, investors, or public shareholders.

Name

COLONIAL DAMES OF AMERICA

Legal name

The Colonial Dames of America

Website

https://cdany.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1890

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Colonial Dames of America, founded in 1890, is a non-profit membership society that operates the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden in New York City and supports 36 affiliated chapters nationwide and in Europe, funding historic preservation, graduate fellowships, and an annual American history book award.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historical Society and Museum Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Historical Sites (712120), Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Art & Culture (Gallery/Museum) Hotels (THAGADAC), Monuments, Statues & Memorials (THAJACAB)

Keywords

• Historical preservation
• Museum operations
• Genealogical society
• Event venue rental
• Heritage education

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Museum Admissions: The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, generating revenue through admission fees. The museum houses eight fully furnished period rooms, an extensive collection of American furniture and decorative arts, costumes, quilts, textiles, and works on paper including early American and New York City documents.
2. Site Rentals: The Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium and Mount Vernon Hotel Museum spaces are rented for weddings, corporate functions, and special celebrations. The auditorium accommodates up to 200 guests and historic period rooms accommodate groups up to 50. Additional fees apply for table/chair use, cleaning, and private tours.
3. Gift Shop Sales: The museum gift shop sells custom items including cookbooks, canvas totes, note cards, and silk scarves featuring the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and CDA branding.
4. Membership Dues: Membership in the Colonial Dames of America is by invitation only and open to women who trace their ancestry to ancestors who held public office at colonial level, were commissioned officers in armed forces, or met other eligibility criteria. Membership supports the organization's educational and preservation missions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Colonial Dames of America is a non-profit historical society that owns and operates the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden in New York City. It sells museum admission, rents event venues (Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium and historic period rooms), operates a museum gift shop, enrolls invited members who can trace colonial ancestry, and grants graduate fellowships and annual book awards supporting American history scholarship.

Product overview

The Colonial Dames of America operates as a historical society offering museum and cultural heritage services. Its primary offerings include the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden (a historic day hotel museum in New York City open to the public), venue rental services through the Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium and historic period rooms, a museum gift shop selling custom merchandise including cookbooks and apparel, and academic programs including graduate fellowships and an annual book award. The organization also supports 36 affiliated chapters worldwide through project-based historic preservation and education initiatives. No technology products or AI/ML capabilities are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden: The accredited museum and garden owned and maintained by the CDA in New York City, serving as the organization's headquarters.

Products and services

• Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden A historic day hotel museum and garden located at 421 E. 61st Street in New York City, presenting the period of the Mount Vernon Hotel (1826-1833). Features eight fully furnished period rooms including ladies' parlors, gentlemen's parlor, tavern room, and kitchen, with an extensive collection of American furniture and decorative arts, costumes, quilts, textiles, and works on paper. Open to the public Tuesday through Sunday (closed August).
• Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium Venue Rental An elegant event venue in Manhattan available for rent for weddings, corporate functions, and special celebrations. Accommodates up to 200 guests with hardwood floors, mirrored Palladian windows, receiving hall, caterer's kitchen with service entrance, and adjoining museum garden and patio for cocktails. Additional fees apply for tables/chairs ($100), cleaning ($100), and private tours ($100).
• Museum Historic Period Rooms Rental Historic period rooms available for rental including the Tavern Room, Ladies' Parlor South, Gentlemen's Parlor, and Upper Hall. Accommodates groups of up to 50 people for meetings, conferences, cocktail receptions, small weddings, showers, birthday parties, and afternoon teas. Includes 19th-century landscaped gardens with gazebo.
• Museum Gift Shop Merchandise On-site gift shop at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum offering custom items including the Colonial Dames of America Cookbook (over 400 recipes, $20), Canvas Tote Bags ($24.95), Holiday Note Card Sets ($12.95), Note Card Sets ($13.95), and Silk Scarves ($125) featuring museum and CDA imagery.
• Graduate Student Fellowships in American History Annual scholarship grants awarded to institutions for graduate student fellowships in American history. Recipients include students at the Graduate Center of History at City University of New York, the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture at the College of William and Mary, and Historic Jamestowne Rediscovery (APVA Preservation Virginia).
• Annual Book Award Program Annual book award presented to an American author for a current work of non-fiction focusing on American history, politics, or culture. Includes a Young Readers Award for fiction or non-fiction with an American theme for young readers, and Special Citations. Award presented at an annual luncheon in New York City.
• CDA Membership Program Membership program open by invitation to women who trace their family to ancestors who held public office at the colonial level, were commissioned officers in the armed forces, or served in capacities specified in the Eligibility List. The oldest genealogical society for women in the United States, with 34-36 chapters throughout the United States and Europe.

Quantifiable outcome

• The society has preserved and opened to the public the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, one of seven oldest buildings in Manhattan
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Graduate Center of History at City University of New YorkcoreOthersAnnual grant awarded to a graduate student writing a dissertation on American history. The 2014 recipient was Christopher Morell, researching female benevolence in the Early Republic. Gift presented in honor of Presidential Professor emerita Carol Berkin.
• Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture at College of William and MarycoreOthersGrant supporting a fellowship in historical editing. The fellowship enables talented graduate students to continue editorial work during summer following apprenticeship, contributing to William and Mary Quarterly and book manuscript publications.
• Historic Jamestowne Rediscovery (APVA Preservation Virginia)coreOthersGrant supporting a Colonial Dames of America Fellow in Archaeology under Historic Jamestowne supervision. Supports excavation work at site of first permanent English settlement in North America, including significant discoveries such as 'Jane' skeleton.
• Book Award Recipients (Various Publishers)minorOthersAnnual book awards presented to American authors and publishers for non-fiction works on American history, politics, or culture. Includes Young Readers Award for children's books with American themes. Publishers include major houses such as Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin Press, Yale University Press.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Old Sturbridge Village: Larger living-history museum presenting early American life with period buildings, demonstrations, and educational programming — a comparable preservation and education institution operating at greater scale.
• Colonial Williamsburg: Large-scale living-history museum focused on colonial American life, with period buildings, educational programming, and ticketed admissions — a broad incumbent in colonial heritage comparable to CDA's mission and educational mandate.
• New-York Historical Society: NYC's oldest museum, focused on American history with a permanent collection, exhibitions, and educational programming — a broader incumbent in the same historical museum category as CDA's Mount Vernon Hotel Museum.

Regional players

• Historic House Trust of NYC: Umbrella nonprofit supporting NYC's historic house museums (including Merchant's House and Dyckman House); provides comparable preservation framework and network peer to CDA's NYC operations.

Direct peers

• Fraunces Tavern Museum: Manhattan historic building (1677) operating as a museum with period rooms, tavern-themed exhibits, and event venue rentals, serving as a peer in NYC historic-house-museum operations.
• Merchant's House Museum: NYC's only preserved 19th-century family home, operating as a house museum on the same scale and with the same period-rooms, gift shop, and educational tour model as the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum.
• Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR): Largest hereditary patriotic society in the US, with shared colonial-lineage membership model, chapter network, historic property stewardship (including DAR Constitution Hall), scholarships, and preservation/education mission. Closest comparable peer to CDA.
• Dyckman House Museum: Manhattan's other surviving early-American farmhouse, operated as a small historic house museum with public admissions, period rooms, and education programming — directly comparable in scale and visitor experience.
• Alice Austen House Museum: Staten Island historic house museum operated as a small nonprofit with period rooms, public tours, and event rentals — directly comparable scale and operating model to Mount Vernon Hotel Museum.
• The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association: Non-profit organization that has owned and operated George Washington's Mount Vernon estate since 1858, with comparable museum, historic house, preservation, and education mission — the prototypical historic estate nonprofit comparable in scope and purpose.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colonial-dames-of-america

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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