Dumbarton House, Washington

Anyone who visits Dumbarton House follows in the footsteps of the country’s fourth First Lady, Dolley Madison, who took shelter there as the War of 1812 raged and the British army edged closer to the White House. Since her visit, the Americans have defeated the British, and the house has been transformed into a museum with a collection of more than 1,000 historical artifacts that transport visitors back to the United States’ formative years. Once inhabited by Joseph Nourse, the first Register of the Treasury, from 1804 through 1813, the home showcases the family’s documents, such as journals, as well as furniture, silver, and other federal period decorative art from the turn of the 19th century. The house itself was built in the same period, exemplifying the clean lines and symmetry that characterized the era’s Federal architecture, with wings on either side of its main block.