William Winchester Chapter, NSDAR

 DAR Facts

Founded: October 11, 1890. Incorporated 1896 by an Act of Congress.

Objectives: Historic Preservation, Patriotism, Education

Motto: God, Home, and Country

Membership: Approximately 170,000 members in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., as well as international chapters in several countries.

Eligibility for Membership: Any woman 18 years or older, regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background, who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution.

DAR National Headquarters covers a full city block of buildings, a short distance from the White House. These buildings at 1776 D Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20006 include:

Constitution Hall, built in 1929 by the National Society for its annual Continental Congress. The Hall seats 3,702 and from the beginning has been available to the citizens of the Washington, D.C., area for concerts, graduations, seminars, lectures, etc.

DAR Library, located in Memorial Continental Hall, built in 1905. The Library, has a collection of over 150,000 titles and is open to the public. Non-members pay a nominal fee for access to the library. The Library's catalog is available on-line.

Seimes Microfilm Center serves as the depository for microfilm owned by the National Society and contains Federal Census records from 1800 to 1900 and state, county, church, and cemetery records.

DAR Museum contains a collection of 33,000 objects made or used in America prior to the Industrial Revolution. The 33 Period Rooms are maintained by individual state organizations under the direction of the Curator General. The Museum Gallery and Period Rooms are open to the public free of charge.

American Spirit Magazine is the official publication of the DAR. It is a bimonthly publication focusing on subjects such as American history, historic preservation, patriotism, genealogy, education and our DAR schools. The magazine also features articles on antiques and collectibles, current events, influential public personas, women's issues, book reviews and useful websites.

For more information about the DAR, visit the NSDAR web site.