Greater Washington Board of Trade records

The Greater Washington Board of Trade is the largest regional network of business and non-profit leaders and the only group representing all industry sectors. The Board of Trade's member companies in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland employ 40 percent of the region's private-sector workforce. Organizations join the Board of Trade to grow their business and help build a better community. The Board of Trade: creates business opportunities through networking events and community-building projects; represents businesses and their employees on a wide range of issues; and markets the region as a vibrant place to work and live.

Founded in 1889, the Greater Washington Board of Trade today operates a variety of programs to further its mission. Twenty Washington businessmen held the first meeting in a parlor of Ebbit house at 14th and F streets, NW. The Board of Trade provided a forum for the expression of local concerns to the federal and congressional officials who held responsibility for the District.

The District of Columbia did not have its own elected government until nearly 100 years after 1874. It was administered by three presidentially appointed commissioners responsible to the District committees in Congress. In the absence of an elected D.C. government, the Board of Trade provided the focal point for the community's most substantial and civic-minded citizens.

Over the course of the twentieth century, the Board of Trade widened its scope to reflect the reality of a growing metropolitan area. Today, the Greater Washington Board of Trade is a regional chamber of commerce representing businesses throughout Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland, and the District.