The Colonial Dames of America

Founded in 1890, the Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an international society of women members whose direct ancestors held positions of leadership in the Thirteen Colonies. The purpose of the society is educational. The CDA owns and maintains the accredited Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden in New York City, which is also the headquarters of both the CDA and the New York Parent Chapter. The CDA provides scholarships to institutions for graduate students in American history, encourages its thirty-two affiliated chapters in the United States and abroad to support educational and historic preservation projects of their choice, and presents an annual book award to an American author for a current work of non-fiction focusing on American history, politics, or culture.