Westchester Historical Society To Take Time To Mark 150th Anniversary

WHITE PLAINS, NY — The organization that keeps Westchester County's rich history alive will take a moment to celebrate its own impressive history, and a big event is coming up.

The Westchester County Historical Society, the eleventh oldest county historical society in the country, will be celebrating its 150th anniversary with a keynote event featuring Kermit Roosevelt III, the great-great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Kermit Roosevelt III, Professor for the Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School, will be the featured speaker at the historical society’s anniversary keynote event on Sunday, October 6, at 3 p.m., at the Gateway Center of SUNY Westchester Community College.

Roosevelt is the author of the book, The Nation That Never Was: Reconstructing America’s Story, and the great-great grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt. The book will be discussed in a conversation moderated by Mary Calvi, Emmy award-winning television journalist and author.

Calvi is the anchor for CBS2 News This Morning, CBS2 News at Noon, and Inside Edition Weekend. She is a 14-time New York Emmy award-winning journalist, and an author of historical fiction. Her most recent novel is If A Poem Could Live And Breathe: A Novel of Teddy Roosevelt's First Love. A native of Westchester County, Calvi lives in her hometown of Yonkers with her husband, Mayor Michael Spano, and their three children.

"The Westchester County Historical Society is delighted to provide the public with an opportunity to hear Professor Roosevelt discuss his compelling book," Westchester County Historical Society Co-Director Barbara Davis said. "The critical period in U.S. history he explores was the time when WCHS was formed, and the subject of his book has considerable relevance today."

In The Nation That Never Was, Roosevelt argues that we are not heirs of the nation’s founders, but rather the heirs of Reconstruction and its vision for equality. He suggests that in our commitment to freedom and equality we might owe more to Abraham Lincoln than we usually consider.

"WCHS is itself steeped in history, yet using all contemporary opportunities to keep ahead of the times," Westchester County Historical Society Co-Director Susanne Pandich said. "History is happening every moment, and we are committed to making sure that it continues to inform and inspire our daily lives."

With the stated mission of collecting and caring for historical documentation of Westchester’s history, the Westchester County Historical Society was incorporated on October 10, 1874. The 21 founders included John Jay, the grandson of the Founding Father and America’s first Supreme Court Justice, and Alexander Hamilton, the grand-son of the Founding Father and first Secretary of the Treasury.

Today, the society is primarily a library and research center that has served as county historian since 1998, providing all the services mandated by the State of New York law, according to the organization. The non-profit organization is located in the Westchester County Records Center in Elmsford, where the county’s public records and archives are also housed. The library acquires, processes, preserves and provides access to the society’s collections. Documents, maps, photographs, manuscripts, and books have been amassed since the organization's inception, the only history organization that is a steward of materials representing all of Westchester.

The collection of over a half million materials are preserved in 10,000 square feet of state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled vaults. The society continues to add new materials to the library by gift, purchase, and long-term loan.

In celebration of the 150th Anniversary, the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge will be illuminated in honor of the Westchester County Historical Society on October 6. A 150th Anniversary traveling exhibit displaying digital images of some of the society’s treasures will be on view in the Michaelian (County) Office Building, 148 Martine Avenue, White Plains, from September 11–30, and at the Rye Free Reading Room, from October 7–October 28.

The October 6, program is free and open to the public, and will conclude with a book signing and reception. Seating is limited; reservations can be made by sending an email to this address.