America was young when the Sewall-Belmont House was built in the then-new capital of Washington in 1800. From its central vantage point near the Senate Office Buildings and Supreme Court, this elegant Capitol Hill mansion has witnessed more than 200 years of American history.
The Louisiana Purchase was written here in 1803. The Federalist-style structure still bears scorch marks from the British firebombing during the War of 1812. And for more than 125 years, it housed several senators and other Washington leaders.
In the 1920s, Sewall-Belmont was at the heart of the fight for women’s suffrage and the demand for equal rights. Headquarters of the Historic National Woman’s Party since 1929, it was home for 40 years to NWP founder Alice Paul, who wrote the Equal Rights Amendment here. The nation’s first feminist library opened at Sewall-Belmont in 1941. The extensive archives cover more than 150 years of the women’s movement including photographs, scrapbooks and journals as well as hundreds of hand-stitched, suffragette banners that were carried on picket lines.
Through the years, though, Sewall-Belmont and its invaluable collection has deteriorated badly. Groundwater threatened the old stone-and-brick foundation and temperature controls were urgently needed to preserve fragile documents and artifacts. Today, thanks in part to a partnership between the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Save America’s Treasures and HGTV, this historic site is being restored as a testament to the fierce struggle for women’s rights.
Sites in the 2004-2005 Restore America: A Salute to Preservation campaign.
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