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The purposes of this Society shall be the discovery, preservation,
and dissemination
of knowledge of the history of the Town of New Castle, New York.
- Museum and headquarters for the non-profit Society
- Address: 100 King Street, Chappaqua, New York 10514
- Phone: (914) 238-4666 Fax: (914) 238-1296
- Email: newcastlehs@aol.com
- Web Site: http://www.newcastlehistoricalsociety.org/
- Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 1 to 4p.m.; Saturday 12 to 4p.m.
- Executive Director: Betsy Towl
- Additional hours by appointment.
- Call the Society anytime and your call will be returned and your visit welcomed.
- See below for exhibits and archives at the museum.
Exhibitions
At the Society's headquarters are the Horace Greeley Room and The Quaker Exhibit. The
Horace Greeley Room
includes a carefully selected collection of Greeley artifacts including the desk at which he wrote
his anti-slavery articles at the New York Tribune, and various family items.
The Quaker Exhibit uses seventeen picture and text panels to tell the story of the founding of
Chappaqua
by the Quakers. A video of the exhibition was produced by Kuhnhardt Productions with a grant
from the Westchester
Arts Council
Two large permanent exhibits offer a view of the two areas of Chappaqua listed in the National
Register of Historic
Places: the Old Quaker Village and the Greeley Tract.
A Children's Annex offers hands-on exhibits of old tools and kitchen items as well as a history
trunk.
A small perennial and herb garden features unusual species indigenous to the area and plants
once
used for medicinal purposes.
Archives
The Society's information and artifacts stretch back to colonial times. They include 18th, 19th
and 20th century maps, 19th century
newspapers, and an extensive photographic collection. Among these are: a flat archive case
containing original copies
of the Tribune and other 19th century publications and papers; working storage files
of local historical material including
principal old New Castle families; oral histories, on tape or transcribed; and videotaped
programs on town government, old estates,
and old graveyards in New Castle.
Source data including residents' diaries, schoolbooks and papers, store account books and also
histories relevant to New Castle
and Westchester County as well as a large collection of Greeley biographies and books are also
found at the Society headquarters.
Community Education Programs
School Outreach
The Society's Education Committee has an on-going program to help schools use
local historical material. For second graders, there is a program teaching traditional
early American crafts. Fourth graders use 19th century newspapers and cartoons to discuss
the Greeley-Grant Presidential campaign. They have also taken a Revolutionary Bus Tour,
which includes
a stop at the Quaker Meeting House, and an opportunity to make grave rubbings.
Meetings, Programs and Trips
Two major membership meetings are held annually with historical programs. The Society
organizes
local history bus tours and organized outings to regional historical places.
Preservation
The Society cooperates with the Town Landmark
Advisory Committee in selecting
local historical sites and in observing and commenting on proposed changes to these sites.
Publications
Listed below is a selection of the publications available from the New Castle Historical Society.
- Bicentennial History of the Town of New Castle
- The Early Quaker Hamlet of Old Chappaqua
- Rare Architectural Heritage: Old Houses of Chappaqua and Millwood
- Chappaqua Life of Horace Greeley
- Native Americans in Westchester and New Castle, 1609-1790
- Deeds and Misdeeds: 1657-1763
- History of Lawrence Farms
- Annandale Farm
Provided as a service by the Town of New Castle.
Your comments and suggested changes
are welcomed and encouraged.
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