The Library at the Jane Douglas Chapter, NSDAR, Continental House
by Suzan Younger
There are countless genealogical jewels spread across Texas as libraries, museums, archives, and exhibitions. Did you know that one such library is as close as the State Fair grounds in Dallas? One of the original buildings in the Fair Park Historical District is the Continental House. The Continental Oil Company built it as the Hospitality House in the 1936 Texas Centennial and deeded it to the Jane Douglas Chapter, NSDAR in October 1937.
The Jane Douglas Chapter, NSDAR holds monthly meetings, workshops, and other special events in the house. It is also home to the David Pendleton Society, the Children of the American Revolution (C.A.R.) group. The house is available for other events on special request. It is open to the public free of charge during the annual State Fair of Texas, held September 27-October 20, 2024.
The Continental House has a special treat for genealogists. It contains a private genealogical library with 3,000+ books focused on the American Revolution and family history books. There is an online catalog accessible at www.librarycat.org/lib/JaneDouglasDAR. The URL takes you to the search page for the Elizabeth Ann Wright Library. You may recognize the catalog as part of The Library Thing/TinyCat app, an online catalog for individuals and small organizations. The search box has an advanced search option, which is a good place to begin.
The library is open to the public only by appointment with the chapter librarian. It is closed during the Texas State Fair. You can email the librarian at janedouglasnsdar@gmail.com or leave a message at (214) 428-6964. There are tables for a comfortable workspace and nearby electrical outlets for a laptop computer. The library has a computer where you can access the online catalog, but there is also one printed copy of the catalog. The chapter’s Facebook page has a June 25 post you can use to contact the chapter librarian with a comment to the post. Perhaps you can organize a field trip to the library with a few of your friends. Just be sure to make that appointment first.
