Where bronx history lives.

  • The Bronx County Historical Society (BCHS), founded in 1955, is a non-profit educational and cultural institution chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. BCHS, the historical agency for The Bronx, a county of New York State and a borough of the city of New York, is dedicated to the collection, preservation, documentation, and public interpretation of the history of The Bronx and lower Westchester County from its earliest human habitation by indigenous peoples through the present.

    BCHS disseminates information to the general public, schools, students, historians, community members, activists, urban planners, and staff of other museums and libraries on the historical, social, and economic development of The Bronx. It utilizes its collections in exhibits, both in-house and traveling, historical research, oral history projects, production of publications, and educational and cultural programming. BCHS operates a Research Center with a Research Library and The Bronx County Archives and two national landmark historic house museums, the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage and the Museum of Bronx History at the Valentine-Varian House.

    The common theme in all of these activities is the promotion of pride in The Bronx through recovering and preserving the borough’s place in the history and development of the region and the nation. The buildings maintained by BCHS are major attractions and also serve as anchors around which dynamic communities develop and thrive.

  • Jacqueline Kutner, President
    Anthony Morante, Vice President
    Patrick Logan, Treasurer
    Gil Walton, Secretary
    Steve Baktidy, Trustee
    Robert Esnard, Trustee
    Mei Sei Fong, Trustee
    Dr. G. Hermalyn, Trustee
    Joel Podgor, Trustee
    Lloyd Ultan, Trustee
    Jac Zadrima, Trustee

    Hon. Zohran K. Mamdani, Mayor, City of New York, Ex officio member
    Hon. Diya Vij, Commissioner, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Ex officio member
    Hon. Tricia Shimamura, Commissioner, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Ex officio member
    Hon. Vanessa Gibson, The Bronx Borough President, Ex officio member

  • Dr. G. Hermalyn
    CEO

    Dr. Steven Payne
    Director
    spayne(at)bronxhistoricalsociety.org

    Teresa Brown
    Chief Administrative Officer

    Roger McCormack
    Director of Education
    718-881-8900 x107
    education(at)bronxhistoricalsociety.org

    Jack McKernan
    Librarian
    718-881-8900×105
    librarian(at)bronxhistoricalsociety.org

    Christopher Padilla
    Bookstore Manager
    718-881-8900 x100
    mailroom(at)bronxhistoricalsociety.org

    Maeve McGroary
    Museum Educator

    Marlen Becerril
    Museum Educator

    Scarlet Gomez
    Creative Expression Educator

    Edwin Pagán
    Film Educator

    STAFF 161
    Urban Arts Educator

Partners

The Bronx County Historical Society is supported in part through the funding of the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Parks and Recreation, the Historic House Trust of New York City, New York Community Trust, New York State Council on the Arts, the Office of the President of the Borough of The Bronx, the Bronx delegation of the New York City Council, the Bronx delegations of the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate, the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, Columbia University's MA Program, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Puffin Foundation, additional public and private entities, members, and individual donors.

We are also proud partners of the Guides Association of New York City.