Mary McLeod Bethune, seated at her desk, working with other National Council of Negro Women employees in the President's Office on the second floor of the Council House.
NPS, National Archives for Black Women's History
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site interprets the life and legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune and the work and legacy of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW). From 1943 to 1966, the house served as the first national headquarters of the NCNW and served as Bethune's final residence in the nation's capital from 1943 to 1949.
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House NHS is a unique unit of the national park system in that it also maintains an archive (located at the NPS Museum Resource Center in Landover, MD) featuring materials relating to the history of African American women in the United States.
Public Law 102-211 which authorized the incorporation of the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Sites into the National Park System also authorized the creation of a Federal Advisory Commission to work with the National Park Service in an advisory capacity on the General Management Plan for the site. For additional information on the Federal Advisory Commission or the General Management Plan, visit the Park Planning section of this page.
