IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 964 
Recognizing the bicentennial of the historic DACOR Bacon House. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 18, 2025 
Ms. MCCLELLAN (for herself, Mr. BACON, and Mr. BEYER) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the bicentennial of the historic DACOR Bacon 
House. 
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 genera-
tions before European settlers arrived on their shores; 
Whereas the DACOR Bacon House is built upon land pre-
viously owned by David Burnes, a Revolutionary War vet-
eran 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 
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passing, and who played a significant role in ending the 
First Barbary War during his service as Consul General 
to Algiers; 
Whereas Tench Ringgold, United States Marshal for the Dis-
trict 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 in doing 
so 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 Car-
roll, Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States 
and a member of the prominent Carroll family, which in-
cludes signers of the Declaration of Independence, Arti-
cles of Confederation, and United States Constitution, as 
well as numerous elected officials and the founder of 
Georgetown University; 
Whereas the House flourished under the ownership of the 
Carroll family, during which time they entertained nu-
merous dignitaries, and William Thomas Carroll provided 
President Abraham Lincoln with the Bible that was used 
for his first inauguration, which has since become known 
as the ‘‘Lincoln Bible’’, and been utilized by other Presi-
dents, including President Barack Obama and President 
Donald Trump, for their oaths of office; 
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Whereas the House served as the official residence of Russian 
Imperial Minister Nikolai Shishkin from 1875 to 1878 
while he was dispatched to the District of Columbia as 
his country’s top diplomatic representative to the United 
States; 
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 District of Columbia high 
society and hosted President Grover Cleveland, President 
Theodore Roosevelt, and Secretary of War William How-
ard Taft; 
Whereas Alice Cornelia Copley Thaw owned the House from 
1911 to 1925 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 pe-
riod Virginia Murray Bacon’s hosting abilities earned her 
the reputation of being one of the District of Columbia’s 
last grande 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 
Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired (DACOR) 
Education and Welfare Foundation to establish the 
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