Woodson, the founder of Black History Month, was an African-American historian, author, and journalist.

The home continued to serve as the national headquarters of the Association until the early 1970s.

With advocacy by the NTHP, the DC Preservation League, community activists, and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, the National Historic Site was authorized by Public Law 108-192 on December 19, 2003, and established by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton on February 27, 2006.

It is operated in conjunction with the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site.

As of January 2023, the site has been closed due to a "full renovation project" and is expected to be reopened in the fall of 2023.