National Society United States Daughters of 1812 (John Henry Upshur House)

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Since 1928, this Queen Anne-style rowhouse, built in 1884 by Rear Admiral John H. Upshur, has been the national headquarters of the United States Daughters of 1812. The National Society United States Daughters of 1812 is a volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to patriotism, education, and preservation of documents and relics from the period between 1784 and 1815. It was organized on January 8, 1892, on the 77th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, by founder Flora Adams Darling, an author, Civil War widow, and daughter of John Adams. In 1901, the society became one of the first women’s organizations to receive a national charter by an Act of Congress. By 1915, at the end of the administration of organizing president Mrs. William Gerry Slade, 35 state societies had been organized with an enrollment of 3, 758 members.

This three-story red brick house with sandstone trim, bowed bay, and a sunburst-pattern railing was designed by architect Frederick Withers. The flagpole in front is a top gallant mast from the USS Constitution, given to the Society in 1933 following reconditioning of the famed Old Ironsides. In 1992, the Society purchased the adjacent Romanesque Revival house at 1463 Rhode Island Avenue for use as a museum and library. 

DC Inventory: January 26, 1995
National Register: December 12, 1997
Within Fourteenth Street Historic District