Every spring, I have to hold myself back from stocking up on a year's worth of Caramel DeLites (or Samoas as some of our transplant friends may call them). Despite being a now national phenomenon, the Girl Scouts and their cookies got their start right here in D.C.
How DC Became the Girl Scout Hub
Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girls Scouts in 1912 in Georgia but moved to D.C. less than a year later, hoping to create a national movement. She established the Girl Scout national headquarters at the Munsey Building on E Street NW, renting a room for $15 a month. By 1914, the Washington Post reported that “Girls in every section of Washington [were] taking an active part of the organization.”
Girl Scouts gardening outside the DAR building, 1917. (Harris & Ewing/Library of Congress)
Founding DC’s First Black Girl Scout Troop
Of course, they didn’t really mean every sector. It wasn’t until 15 years later that D.C. would have its first Black Girl Scout troop. Even then, the troop didn’t have equal access to the same facilities and opportunities and weren't allowed at Girl Scout camps. Integration didn’t happen until 1957, after Brown v. Board of Education.
The Girl Scout Cookies Take Off
The original Girl Scout cookies were small sugar cookies the scouts would make and sell to raise money. The first organized cookie sales happened in 1922, and they really took the following year when First Lady Grace Coolidge was photographed eating them in front of the White House. The Indianapolis Times quotes her saying “My, but these are good!”
First Lady Grace Coolidge tasting one of the original Girl Scout cookies at the White House. (Harris & Ewing/Library of Congress)
Girl Scout’s DC Legacy
The Girl Scout headquarters eventually moved to New York, but you can still find plenty of Girl Scouts selling cookies in the DMV for the rest of the month. Also, The Postal Museum is celebrating the release of a new Juliette Gordon Low quarter as part of Women’s History Month.
