Brief History of the Site

1799
Museum building is constructed as a carriage house for twenty-three acre Mt. Vernon estate

Carriage House

1826
Main estate house burns down. Joseph Hart purchases carriage house and converts it into the Mount Vernon Hotel

Joseph Coleman Hart

1833
Jeremiah Towle purchases building and uses it as his family home for over seventy years

The Towle Family Home

1905
Standard Gas Light Company purchases property and erects gas tanks

Standard Gas Light Company Gas Tanks

1919
Jane Teller, President of the Society of American Antiquarians, leases house and opens antique shop

Jane Teller

1924
The CDA purchases house to use as its headquarters

Insignia of The Colonial Dames of America

1939
The CDA opens historic house museum to public as the Abigail Adams Smith House 

Abigail Adams Smith

1988
The CDA votes to reinterpret museum as the 1826-33 Mount Vernon Hotel

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum Sign with the 59th Street Bridge in the background