Recognizing the bicentennial of the historic DACOR Bacon House.

Recognizing the bicentennial of the historic DACOR Bacon House.

Whereas the DACOR Bacon House rests upon land originally belonging to the Anacostan people who lived in the area between the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers for generations before European settlers arrived on their shores;

Whereas the DACOR Bacon House is built upon land previously owned by David Burnes, a Revolutionary War veteran who negotiated with President George Washington for the sale of his property to the Federal Government, which included the land upon which the White House and much of The National Mall are built;

Whereas the property was acquired in 1815 by Tobias Lear V, George Washington’s personal secretary, who was the last person to whom President Washington spoke before passing, and who played a significant role in ending the First Barbary War during his service as Consul General to Algiers;

Whereas Tench Ringgold, United States Marshal for the District of Columbia and Keeper of the Keys of the Capitol, who personally led President James Madison and several members of his Cabinet to safety during the 1814 British burning of the White House, completed building the present-day DACOR Bacon House in 1825, through the use of enslaved people;

Whereas Chief Justice John Marshall, a previous Secretary of State, boarded at the House and was joined in doing so at times by Justices Joseph Story, Gabriel Duval, Smith Thompson, and Henry Baldwin;

Whereas former Maryland Governor Samuel Sprigg, who was instrumental in the completion of the historic Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, purchased the House as a gift for his daughter Sally Sprigg, and nephew William Thomas Carroll, Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States and a member of the prominent Carroll family, which includes signers of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and United States Constitution, as well as numerous elected officials and the founder of Georgetown University;

Whereas the House flourished under the ownership of the Carroll family, during which time they entertained numerous dignitaries, and William Thomas Carroll provided President Abraham Lincoln with the Bible that was used for his first inauguration, which has since become known as the “Lincoln Bible”, and been utilized by other Presidents, including President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump, for their oaths of office;

Whereas the House served as the official residence of Russian Imperial Minister Nikolai Shishkin from 1875 to 1878 while he was dispatched to the District of Columbia as his country’s top diplomatic representative to the United States;

Whereas Chief Justice Melville Fuller and his family resided at the House from 1896 to 1910, during which time the House remained a fixture in District of Columbia high society and hosted President Grover Cleveland, President Theodore Roosevelt, and Secretary of War William Howard Taft;

Whereas Alice Cornelia Copley Thaw owned the House from 1911 to 1925 and modernized its inner workings;

Whereas Illinois Senator Medill McCormick and his wife, the future Congresswoman Ruth Hanna McCormick, resided in the House during the 1920s when they entertained lawmakers and their spouses;

Whereas socialite Virginia Murray Bacon and her husband, 8-term New York Congressman Robert Low Bacon, owned the House from 1925 to 1980, during which period Virginia Murray Bacon’s hosting abilities earned her the reputation of being one of the District of Columbia’s last grande dames;

Whereas the House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, paying homage to its nearly 150 years of contributions to American history and society;

Whereas Virginia Murray Bacon established the Bacon House Foundation, which worked hand in hand with the Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired (DACOR) Education and Welfare Foundation to establish the DACOR Bacon House Foundation, which was charged with caring for the historic House in perpetuity;

Whereas, on May 23, 1986, Secretary of State George P. Shultz attended the dedication ceremony marking the DACOR Bacon House Foundation’s new ownership of the building and charged those present to “protect and advance the interests and ideals of America”;

Whereas, since such time, the DACOR Bacon House has served as the headquarters of DACOR, a premier organization of foreign affairs professionals, whose members include ambassadors, Foreign Service Officers, military and intelligence officials, political appointees from both major parties, Members of Congress and their staffs, Peace Corps and International Monetary Fund officials, global business leaders, and other professionals dedicated to promoting American interests and diplomatic relations;

Whereas, through DACOR and the DACOR Bacon House Foundation, which host regular educational discussions, policy programs, leadership development opportunities, and musical events, the House continues to be a vibrant center of cultural and diplomatic exchange, a museum of American life, and the home of the foreign affairs community; and

Whereas, 200 years after its construction, the DACOR Bacon House remains a pillar of strength in the President’s neighborhood, pays tribute to the legacy of its prior owners, enslaved workers, and distinguished guests, and serves as a unique prism for understanding the history of both the District of Columbia and the United States of America: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) recognizes the historic importance of the DACOR Bacon House to the history of American diplomacy, the Supreme Court, and Congress;

(2) applauds the Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired (DACOR) organization and DACOR Bacon House Foundation for their decades-long efforts to preserve this unique gem located in the heart of the Nation’s Capital;

(3) congratulates all those who have found meaning and community in the DACOR Bacon House on its bicentennial; and

(4) sincerely wishes to see the DACOR Bacon House continue to flourish over the next 200 years.