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Upcoming Events
The Stories We Share
New Castle Historical Society's Diamond Jubilee Exhibition
Through July 4 at the Greeley House <<-- LAST CHANCE
Story Exchange - Town of New Castle Committee on Inclusion & Belonging
Wednesday, June 24, 6-8pm, Greeley House
1776 Tavern Night
Saturday, June 27, 5-7pm, Susan Lawerence
Fall Featured Artist: Sarah Wry
Botanicals and Birds
On view September 5 - October 31
Castles of New Castle Historic Homes Tour
Sunday, October 18 - save the date
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| This special exhibition is part of our 60th anniversary celebration and features dozens of rarely- and never-before-exhibited objects from our collection. Visit to discover New Castle stories from the past 250 years! The exhibition is open every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday through July 4. | |
Reader's Digest History Unveiled at Chappaqua Crossing | |
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All former staff members of the Reader’s Digest would almost certainly agree: The Digest was a great place to work. The most widely attended historical exhibition ever held at the Greeley House was the elegant display created by such loyal staffers in 2010, covering the history of the institution and of its funders, DeWitt and Lila Wallace. Now a more permanent memorial of that history has found a place on the former Digest property, now Chappaqua Crossing.
On June 4th, a group of former Digest staff members, accompanied by staff and trustees of the historical society, attended a dedication of a four-panel display of Digest history, mounted on a kiosk at the park in front of the former company headquarters. Like the earlier exhibition, it presents the engaging story of the founding of the Digest by the Wallaces in the 1920s and its subsequent rise to become the most popular magazine in the nation, with translated editions all over the world.
The location of the kiosk could hardly be more ideal, close to the ancient oak that Mrs. Wallace took pains to preserve when the headquarters building was constructed. There are benches nearby and convenient parking. So, next time you are at Chappaqua Crossing, stop by and have a look.
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Congratulations to Our High School Senior Capstone Interns! | This month, Horace Greeley High School seniors CJ Gagliardo and Oliver Mogartoff completed their Capstone internships at the society. Over four weeks, the two studied the society collection, learned about museum practices, and transcribed archival materials from the 19th century. They also guided tours of our exhibition, The Stories We Share. We are so grateful to CJ and Oliver for their contributions these past weeks, and we wish them all the best as they graduate from Greeley and head off to Bowdoin College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this fall! | |
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"I enjoyed my internship at the Historical Society, getting to learn and teach about our local history. I've gained such an appreciation for the town I've lived almost my whole life in." - CJ
"I liked learning about the history of our town, be it the Side Hill House or how we’ve gone from the Chappaqua Mountain Institute to what we have now. I learned that a lot of historical work is really just reading." - Oliver
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| Greeley & Clendenin Family Photos | | The collections team recently processed two metal boxes of Greeley & Clendenin Family memorabilia that have been untouched in the Collections Room for years. Inside the boxes were photo albums, letters, and personal effects, including items from Muriel Clendenin, one of the daughters of Gabrielle Greeley Clendnein and the Rev. Dr. Frank M. Clendenin. There were many photos of the family's happy times on the grounds of Rehoboth before young Muriel fell ill in the fall of 1903. She eventually succumbed to meningitis, leaving her family heartbroken but inspired to build the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in her honor. Muriel, along with her family, are buried at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, an ever present reminder of the Clendenin family who helped shape so much of today's town of New Castle. | |
| We celebrated our annual Memorial Day Parade viewing from the Greeley porch and welcomed guests of all kinds to our exhibition free day! | | The Quakers Have Stories to Tell | | Among the visitors to our current exhibition of seldom-displayed treasures were members of the Chappaqua Friends’ Meeting, who were given a special tour on a recent Sunday afternoon. As might be expected, they were particularly interested in relics of local Quaker history, such as the elaborate needlework samplers by Quaker schoolgirls Abigail Underhill and Sally Lane Brundage, the fancifully illustrated genealogy of early Quaker William Kipp, the massive key from one of the Quaker meetinghouses, and the Book of the Dead, the decades-long record of names and death dates maintained by Quaker coffin maker Thomas Dodge and his descendants. | | |
But above all, they were most enthusiastic about the major highlight of the exhibition, the Patriotic Quilt, completed in 1903 by devout Quaker and Chappaqua native Sarah Emily Birdsall Griffith. It contains one hundred or so portraits of famous Americans, and several of these were prominent Quakers – George Fox, William Penn, Lucretia Mott, and John Greenleaf Whittier. The quilt also includes representations of Quaker meetinghouses, embroidered quotations from Quaker poems, and references to Quaker ideals such as peace.
Our Quaker visitors were most appreciative of this opportunity to view the exhibition. We welcome other community groups to enjoy special viewings of this kind. Time is limited, for the exhibition ends on July 4th. For an appointment, call us at 914-238-4666, or write to us at info@newcastlehs.org.
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