Mary McLeod Bethune Council House

National Historic Site

Washington D. C.

Established: October 1996

0.07 acres

Annual Visitors: 8,570 (in 2005)

Official Site: https://www.nps.gov/mamc/index.htm

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_McLeod_Bethune_Council_House_National_Historic_Site

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NPS.MAMC

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethunenhs

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethunenhs

In 1982, Congress passed legislation requiring the United States Department of the Interior to sign an agreement with the National Council of Negro Women to further restore the house and carriage house, and to establish and maintain a museum and archives in the structure. Although the NCNW would retain ownership of the house, it would "affiliate" with the National Park Service. The museum and archives were established. Another $1 million in federal money was spent refurbishing, renovating, and conserving the house. By 1987, the federal government was paying $300,000 a year to maintain the house and museum, with the remaining two-thirds of the museum's budget coming from corporations, foundations, and private citizens. Collier-Thomas left the museum in 1989.

The National Park Service purchased Council House in 1994 and renamed it the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site. The National Council of Negro Women purchased as its new headquarters Sears House—an $8 million, six-story, 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m²) historic building at 633 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. The Council House was transferred to the Park Service in October 1996.

Links

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2. Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Washington, D.C.

Number of visitors in 2018: 109

This Washington, D.C., brick rowhouse may not stand out architecturally next to rows of similar houses, but its one-time resident had an impact that was felt through generations of African Americans. An educator, philanthropist and civil rights activist, Mary McLeod Bethune founded a school for African American girls that later evolved into a university, and she became an adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on developing education opportunities for African Americans. It was at that time that she founded the National Council for Negro Women, whose headquarters were later located in the house that visitors can tour on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The site usually welcomes a few thousand visitors each year, but overall visitation was very low last year because the house reopened in December after a two-year closure to install fire suppression and security systems.