About the Historical Society of Rockland County
The Historical Society of Rockland County was established in 1965 through the consolidation of two earlier societies and serves as the principal repository for original documents and artifacts relating to Rockland County. A nonprofit educational institution, the society collects, catalogues, preserves, and exhibits materials that reflect the county's diverse history from its four-acre headquarters campus at 20 Zukor Road in New City, and promotes the preservation and restoration of the county's historic sites through its programs and publications.
The Jacob Blauvelt House
The heart of the campus is the Jacob Blauvelt House, a two-story vernacular brick farmhouse built circa 1832. The land it stands on was purchased in 1741 by Jacob Blauvelt's great-grandfather, whose family had come from Holland in the early 1600s, and it passed from father to sons for generations. In 1970 the society acquired the house, its farm outbuildings, and four acres from the Gibbons family, descendants of the original Blauvelts, and between 1972 and 1975 it restored the farmhouse along with the barn, carriage house, and blacksmith shop.
Just east of the farmhouse stands the society's History Center, a fireproof museum whose cornerstone was laid in February 1975 and which was dedicated in July 1977. The building contains 2,170 square feet of exhibition space across two galleries, along with a library and collections storage. The society also publishes South of the Mountains, its flagship local history quarterly, whose inaugural issue appeared in 1957 under the predecessor Tappan Zee Historical Society, and it sponsors educational programs and exhibitions throughout the year.
Plan Your Visit
The Historical Society of Rockland County is located at 20 Zukor Road in New City, New York 10956, where visitors can explore the History Center galleries and the c. 1832 Jacob Blauvelt House. For current hours, tour schedules, and admission, visit rocklandhistory.org.
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