Talking Location With … Stephanie Dray / Laura Kamoie: WASHINGTON DC

13th May 2026

#TalkingLocationWith …Stephanie Dray / Laura Kamoie, Authors of A Founding Mother – WASHINGTON DC

If you’re looking to walk in the footsteps of A Founding Mother, Washington, D.C. is one of the best places to go. While many important ladies rightly count among America’s Founding Mothers, Abigail Adams (1744 – 1818) was arguably the most important—and most influential—of them all.

And we can still trace her footsteps in the nation’s capital.

Now, Abigail was a well-traveled woman. She not only lived in Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, but also Paris and London. So it’s easy to understand why she wasn’t very impressed with “Washington City,” as it was then called, which she described as “a city in name only.”

“The country around is romantic but wild, a wilderness at present,” she wrote.

Still, it was in America’s then-new capital where Abigail wielded some of her most noteworthy influence.

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The White House

President John Adams and Abigail Adams became the first occupants of the presidential manse in 1800, the year it was completed. Here, Abigail continued in her role as her husband’s most trusted political advisor. Sometimes the president’s critics even called her Mrs. President, and it was true that the First Lady pioneered that role’s political potential by advising John on policy, advocating for issues she cared about, and using social gatherings to play parlor politics.

Her opinion of the “castle’s” interiors was humorously critical, saying, “Not one room or chamber is finished of the whole. It is habitable by fires in every part, thirteen of which we are obliged to keep daily, or sleep in wet and damp places.” She agreed that the edifice had been “built for ages to come,” but fretted that it lacked plastering in many rooms, bells for servants, and proper stairs.

While some rooms remained rough, like the East Room where Abigail hung her laundry, she oversaw the finishing of others, like the second-floor oval room she turned into a “very handsome” Ladies’ Drawing Room complete with crimson furniture. John and Abigail began the tradition of hosting a New Year’s Reception that lasted for over 130 years. Legends say that Abigail’s ghost haunts the White House, but we can’t imagine why that would be when she much preferred other places!

United States Capitol

Construction began in 1793, with the Senate wing mostly completed just in time for the government’s move from Philadelphia in 1800. Congress, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, and the D.C. courts all took up space in that partial building, and the hilltop remained a construction site—employing enslaved laborers as all the public buildings projects did—for the whole of Abigail Adams’s residence within the city, giving her the opportunity to decry the institution of slavery as a “most cruel” contradiction to American liberty.

(The other wing of the Capitol was mostly completed by 1811, just in time for the War of 1812, which would result in the building’s burning by the British in August of 1814.)

With the arrival of Congress—and some of the Members’ wives—Abigail became the First Lady in charge of the influential social gatherings that took place in her and other ladies’ parlors to build support for her husband’s causes and manage political relationships.

Sewall-Belmont House (now Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument)

Built in 1800, it is one of the oldest surviving residential buildings on Capitol Hill. During Abigail’s tenure in the city, this house served as the residence of the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin—and they were not friends. Indeed, Gallatin is credited with dubbing her “Mrs. President, not of the United States but of a faction [political party].” For her part, Abigail wasn’t shy about responding, calling him, “the sly, the artful, the insidious Gallatin.” Later, this house served as the HQ of the National Woman’s Party, an organization of leading suffragettes who worked to rally women to support passage of the 19th Amendment. As the author of the famous admonishment to “remember the ladies,” Abigail would’ve approved.

The Octagon House

Built by John Tayloe III, Virginia’s largest land owner and a personal friend to George Washington, construction was completed in 1801, making it one of the closest grand mansions to the White House. As fellow Federalists, the Tayloes were friends to the Adamses. While it’s not known if Abigail ever visited here, the Tayloes hosted John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and others. So it seems likely. The house later served as a temporary White House after the 1814 burning. John Adams appointed Tayloe III as Major of Light Dragoons, U. S. A.; John Tayloe IV served as a naval officer on the USS John Adams.

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

To see some of Abigail Adams’s personal items, a visit to NMAH is a must! Depending on what’s on display, you might see a navy blue dress she wore between 1785-1788, her yellow kid slippers, a fan, and a string of faux pearl beads. These were all donated to the museum in 1913 by a relative of Abigail Adams’s sister.

Georgetown

In Abigail’s time, Georgetown was a separate town within the District of Columbia—and she did not think highly of it. She famously called the now-posh neighborhood where she did her marketing “the very dirtiest Hole I ever saw.” Still, there are several places in Georgetown that must be on any list of Abigail’s Washington, including:

Dumbarton House

This is a federal-style home completed around 1800, housing the first Register of the Treasury, Joseph Nourse. Among the many period artifacts are the painting “The Benjamin Stoddert Children” by Charles Wilson Peale from 1789 and an elaborately embroidered map of the District of Columbia from around 1800 created by a young girl, Mary Magdalene Lemoine, as part of her early elite education. Among this house museum’s collections are two empty envelopes which originally contained hair clippings from John and Abigail Adams, likely collected due to their fame or the collector’s sentimental feelings about the couple.

Tudor Place

Representing part of the social fabric of early DC, Tudor Place was constructed beginning in 1794 by a Maryland merchant before being sold to Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Martha Parke Custis Peter. The house museum therefore has many letters by and about America’s first First Lady, including letters to and from the Adamses. Most notably, when President Washington died in 1799, the Adamses sent Martha letters of condolence. Upon reading them, the grieving wife cried for the first time.

In reply to Abigail, Martha wrote, “May you long very long enjoy the happiness you now possess and never know affliction like mine.”

The City Tavern

Built in 1796, the City Tavern is one of the oldest buildings and last remaining Federal-period taverns in Washington, D.C. The citizens of Georgetown organized plans here to greet President John Adams as he arrived at the D.C. boundary and escort him into the city. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and many others spent time, slept, drank, and did business here. Among their collections is a portrait of John Adams and an original letter of Abigail’s.

Finally, if following in a Founding Mother’s footsteps leaves you hungry or thirsty, we recommend taking a respite at one of these fine establishments:

• 1789 Restaurant (Georgetown): Named after the founding year of Georgetown University, the restaurant resides in a series of historic houses. Among the themed rooms, the John Carroll Room captures the city’s history with Currier and Ives prints from George Washington’s days as president, early maps of the city, and paintings and prints of Georgetown University. Beautiful American antique furniture, silver and wooden Early American relics, and an elegant fireplace complete the setting.
• Founding Farmers (Foggy Bottom) and Founding Farmers & Distillers (Dupont Circle): A bar and restaurant owned by American family farmers serving locally sourced dishes amid original artwork inspired by farms and the founding period of American history.
• The Hamilton (Penn Quarter/Downtown): Though Abigail Adams did not like Alexander Hamilton, and would have been appalled to eat anywhere named after him, this restaurant’s upscale cuisine, sushi bar, ambiance, and location near the White House make it a favorite spot.
• Willard Hotel Tea Room (Penn Quarter/Downtown): Though the original buildings of the hotel located on this site weren’t founded until fifteen years after the Adamses’ departure from DC, this traditional Afternoon Tea features tea, finger sandwiches, pastries, and scones that Abigail would have loved. And we think you’ll love them too.

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Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Stephanie Dray is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into many languages and tops lists for the most anticipated reads of the year. She lives in Maryland with her husband, cats and history books.

Laura Kamoie is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. She holds a doctoral degree in early American history from the College of William and Mary and published two nonfiction books on early America. Laura lives in the storied Maryland capital town of Annapolis.

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