Staten Island Historical Society is an organization devoted to the history of Staten Island and its neighboring communities, from the colonial period to the present day. The Society operates and interpreting Historic Richmond Town, the largest and most comprehensive historic village in New York City. It also collects and preserves the materials of everyday life, including the artifacts, archives, and buildings that tell the story; conducts and promotes research based on the museum’s collections; and shares the collection and knowledge with the public through creative and engaging interpretive activities.
The Staten Island Historical Society was founded in 1856. By the mid-20th century, its members had embarked on an ambitious project to collect, preserve, and interpret the material culture of the region. With more than 30 original historic structures on four different sites covering over 100 acres of parkland, Historic Richmond Town is a living history village and museum complex that evokes 350 years of the history and culture of New York City. The Staten Island Historical Society also plays an active role in promoting and assisting research beyond the borders of New York and has supported numerous publications, exhibitions, documentaries, and other humanities projects both within and outside the United States.
Highlights of the Staten Island Historical Society's collections may be viewed through its Online Collections Database. [1]
Staten Island is the southernmost borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southern tip of the U.S. state of New York. The borough is separated from the adjacent state of New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and from the rest of New York by New York Bay. With a population of 495,747 in the 2020 Census, Staten Island is the least populated New York City borough but the third largest in land area at 58.5 sq mi (152 km2); it is also the least densely populated and most suburban borough in the city.
The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is a museum located on the residential Lighthouse Hill in Egbertville, Staten Island, New York City. It is home to one of the United States' most extensive collections of Himalayan artifacts. The museum was created by Jacques Marchais, (1887-1948) an American woman, to serve as a bridge between the West and the rich ancient and cultural traditions of Tibet and the Himalayan region. Marchais designed her educational center to be an all-encompassing experience: it was built to resemble a rustic Himalayan monastery with extensive terraced gardens and grounds and a fish and lotus pond. The museum was praised for its authenticity by the Dalai Lama, who visited in 1991. In 2009, the site was listed on the New York State Register and National Register of Historic Places. A writer in the New York Times referred to the museum's founder under the name Jacqueline Klauber, noting that she used Marchais as her professional name.
Historic Richmond Town is an authentic town and farm museum complex in the neighborhood of Richmondtown, Staten Island, in New York City. It is located near the geographical center of the island, at the junction of Richmond Road and Arthur Kill Road. Staten Island Historical Society and Historic Richmond Town are two different names for the same organization, reflecting its long history and evolution.
The Virginia Museum of History and Culture founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history. It is a private, non-profit organization, supported almost entirely by private contributions. In 2004, it was designated the official state historical society of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Caleb Lyon was Governor of Idaho Territory from 1864 to 1865 during the last half of the American Civil War.
The New York City Municipal Archives (NYCMA) is a division of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services, located in the Surrogate's Courthouse in Manhattan. Founded in 1950, the Municipal Archives preserves and makes accessible records created by the government of New York City. The collections include manuscripts, sound recordings, film and tape footage, maps, blueprints, photographs and digital media.
A historical society is an organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching, and interpreting historical information or items. Originally, these societies were created as a way to help future generations understand their heritage.
The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) is an agency of the government of Oklahoma dedicated to promotion and preservation of Oklahoma's history and its people by collecting, interpreting, and disseminating knowledge and artifacts of Oklahoma. The mission of the OHS is to collect, preserve, and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people.
The Idaho State Historical Society (ISHS) is a historical society located in the U.S. state of Idaho that preserves and promotes the state's cultural heritage.
Historic preservation in New York is activity undertaken to conserve forests, buildings, ships, sacred burial grounds, water purity and other objects of cultural importance in New York in ways that allow them to communicate meaningfully about past practices, events, and people.
The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History (CMCH), formerly the Connecticut Historical Society, is a private, non-profit organization that serves as the official state historical society of Connecticut. Established in Hartford in 1825, the CMCH is one of the oldest historical societies in the US.
Staten Island Museum is Staten Island’s oldest cultural institution, and the only remaining general interest museum in New York City.
The Christopher House is a stone masonry farmhouse at Historic Richmond Town in Staten Island, New York City. It is associated with two of the oldest Staten Island families. It was also used as a meeting place during the American Revolution, while being the residence of Joseph Christopher, a member of the Richmond County Committee of Safety from 1775 to 1776. It was moved to Historic Richmond Town in late 1969 and restored for museum presentation from 1975 to 1977.
William Thompson Davis (1862–1945) was an American naturalist, entomologist, and historian especially associated with Staten Island in New York City. He was prominent in the borough's affairs throughout his life.
The Rensselaer County Historical Society (RCHS) is a non-profit, historical society and museum, to promote the study of the history of the Rensselaer County, NY. RCHS was founded in 1927, and originally operated out of a single room in the Troy Public Library, collecting manuscripts and published materials related to the county's history. It is located in the Central Troy Historic District, in Troy, NY. The Rensselaer County Historical Society operates a museum, and offers public programs from its location at 57 Second Street, Troy, NY.
Loring McMillen was an American historian who served as Staten Island's official historian. He preserved the works of Alice Austen and worked to restore Historic Richmond Town.
The Bronx County Historical Society is a private non-profit organization that collects and disseminates historical material and information about the New York City borough of the Bronx, as well as southern Westchester County, New York.
The National Lighthouse Museum is a museum in St. George, Staten Island, New York City, United States, that is dedicated to the history of lighthouses and their keepers. It officially opened in 2015. The museum is located within the former Foundry Building of the United States Lighthouse Service General Depot, later the Staten Island Coast Guard Station.
Founded in 1916, the Columbia County Historical Society and CCHS Museum & Library collects, preserves, interprets, and presents the history, heritage, and culture of Columbia County, New York, and serves residents of all eighteen Columbia County towns and the city of Hudson.