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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
26-107
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
November 4, 2025
To recognize and celebrate the history, legacy, and significant contributions of the DACOR Bacon
House to the District of Columbia.
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 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 was instrumental 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 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
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Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, United States Constitution, as well as
numerous elected officials and the founder of Georgetown University;
WHEREAS, William Thomas Carroll was also known for providing President Abraham
Lincoln with the Bible that was used for his first inauguration, which has since become known as
the ‘‘Lincoln Bible’’ and has been utilized by other presidents, including President Barack Obama
and President Donald Trump, for their oaths of office;
WHEREAS, the DACOR Bacon House served as the official residence of Russian Imperial
Minister Nikolai Shishkin, the Russian Federation’s top diplomatic representative to the United
States, from 1875 to 1878 while he was dispatched to Washington, D.C.;
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 Washington, D.C., high society and
hosted President Grover Cleveland, President Theodore Roosevelt, and Secretary of War William
Howard Taft;
WHEREAS, from 1911 to 1925, Alice Cornelia Copley Thaw owned the House 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 Washington,
D.C.’s last grandes 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 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 that marked the DACOR Bacon House Foundation’s new ownership and charged those
present to ‘‘protect and advance the interests and ideals of America’’;
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WHEREAS, since 1986, the House has served as the headquarters of the Diplomatic and
Consular Officers, Retired (DACOR) organization, 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.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “DACOR Bacon House Bicentennial Resolution of 2025”.
Sec. 2. The Council hereby recognizes the unique contributions of the DACOR Bacon
House to the people of the District of Columbia on the occasion of its bicentennial.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.