Upcoming Events

Exhibition on now: Glimpses of New Castle's Past

Tuesdays-Thursdays & Saturdays until July 20

Exhibition Scavenger Hunt Saturdays

Saturdays in June

SAVE THE DATE: Castles of New Castle House Tour

Sunday, October 6

SAVE THE DATE: Fair Ridge Cemetery Tour

Sunday, October 27

FamilySearch's Rich Genealogy Resources Now Accessible at the Greeley House

The New Castle Historical Society is excited to announce its new partnership with FamilySearch, a leading online genealogy resource. Researchers can now combine the wealth of our local historical collection with the vast online resources of FamilySearch.

FamilySearch offers over two billion images of historical records, including census data, birth certificates, marriage records, and obituaries. These records can be invaluable for tracing your family lineage and uncovering new details about your ancestors' lives.

To take advantage of this new resource, visitors to the New Castle Historical Society will need to create a free account at FamilySearch.org.

The New Castle Historical Society is a valuable source for anyone interested in learning more about the town and its residents. In addition to genealogical records, the society’s Research Room offers a variety of other resources, including books and periodicals, historical maps, photographs and postcards, and files on families, locations, and institutions. The Research Room is available by appointment only. To make an appointment, email info@newcastlehs.org or call 914-238-4666.

Tuesdays-Thursdays and Saturdays 11am - 3pm

Suggested donation $5 members / $10 non-members

Our current exhibition -- only on for one more month -- features an assortment of works and drawings by twentieth-century artists portraying landmarks and special events in our community. Paintings from the New Castle Historical Society's and Chappaqua Library's collections are on display in the Horace Greeley House, transporting viewers into the life of the community a century ago.

Thank you to our Graduating Interns!

Michael Curtin will attend Dickinson College, Majoring in Business with a Minor in History. Michael spent his time with the Historical Society, working with the Collections Department to catalog inventory and create and analyze the membership database.

Claire Nam will attend Yale University and double major in Economics and English. Through "Capturing New Castle", Claire undertook a photographic survey of civic and historical sites in New Castle. The photos will be archived and included in an ongoing project to illustrate the changing streetscape.

Drawing Goes from Hidden Away to Exhibition Display

By Gray Williams

The recent purchaser of a home on Inningwood Road thought simply of passing along the framed drawing found tucked away in the basement. When the owner brought it to Take It or Leave It on a recent Saturday, the volunteers immediately recognized it for the historic treasure it is, and presented it to the New Castle Historical Society.

Architect James Renwick Thomson made this drawing in 1927, and it represented his design for the Horace Greeley School, now the Robert E. Bell Middle School. The design won a competition for the commission against submissions from eight other local architects. The building would become the first comprehensive school in the newly formed Chappaqua Central School District, and it would supplant the small neighborhood “common” schools that up to then provided education only to about the eighth-grade level.

Most of the competing designs were in the ornate Gothic or Tudor styles that were fashionable in that period. Thomson’s was different. With its relatively steep roofs, it drew upon medieval Norman traditions, but it avoided almost all external ornament, relying instead upon the harmonious combination of basic geometric forms for its visual impact. Its only ornamental flourish was a sprightly glass-sided cupola at its peak. This was in fact a very modern building for its time, which may well have led the jury of outside architects to select it.

The building soon proved to be a popular winner as well. Overlooking the village, it became the community's most prominent visual landmark. Its facilities provided for an expansive educational program, notable for its high standards. Its large auditorium became the major center for community events. With an addition in the same style during the late 1930s, it served the school district well until World War II. Thereafter, enormous population growth required the construction of several additional schools, and the building itself was successively enlarged to the rear. In 1957, when the new high school was built, Horace Greeley’s name was transferred to it, and this school was renamed in honor of its first principal, Robert E. Bell.

James Thomson was a talented artist as well as an accomplished architect. His drawing is a virtuoso display of the techniques taught in architecture school to make renderings for clients. But, like his watercolors, his drawing transcends technique. Here he used line rather than color to convey an atmosphere of airy spaciousness about the precisely defined building. Its beauty surely must have added to the appeal of his design for the exhibition judges.

This remarkable work has been put on display in our current exhibition, Glimpses of the Past, which already contains several of Thomson’s watercolors. Come by and enjoy it.