Historic Hudson Valley
Audio Transcript-
Colombo: “When told to think of historical New York landmarks, your mind might immediately drift to a certain statue in the harbor, or maybe the tallest building in the country. But the state’s history goes much deeper. New York has long been branded the home of opportunity and freedom. However, the past is not always quite as black and white as photos in history books. Groups like the Historic Hudson Valley work to educate New Yorkers on the lesser known sides of their past, making sure all faces of history are represented. I spoke with Elizabeth Bradley, President of Programs and Engagement at Historic Hudson Valley (HHV), about how they handle the changing narrative of history.”
Bradley: “The mission of Historic Hudson Valley is to celebrate the history, architecture, landscape and culture of the Hudson Valley. Advancing its importance, and thereby, assuring its preservation.That for us, really sums up the ways in which we use both our historical spaces and our innovative programming work to tell a story that we believe our communities will find compelling and engaging, and which will help to create a sense of ownership over these spaces...”
Colombo: “Founded in 1951, HHV was created by John D Rockefeller Jr. in an effort to preserve important buildings across Westchester. Rockefeller felt that keeping the physical spaces intact was an important step in ensuring their history’s longevity, and it has been. HHV has been creating living history in these historical buildings for the last 6 decades.”
Bradley: “Living history is an opportunity to experience the past through the lense of immersive spaces, and that means you have the opportunity to walk through a historic house museum. To inhabit the space in which people in the past lived and worked. You have the opportunity in some cases to handle some of the objects and learn to use some of the tools that they night have used in their daily lives, and in their labor.”
Colombo: “HHV offers tours at 5 distinct locations, ranging from Kykuit (the Rockefeller estate) to the home of Washington Irving who we attribute with the creation of the Headless Horseman and Rip Van Winkle. Because of their wide range of sites, Bradley says they’re constantly working to better understand each of their locations through funding historical research and scholarship. The group has especially committed themselves to uncovering the story of women and enslaved Africans whose stories, up until recently, have often been neglected. Philipsburg Manor, one of their sites, has been completely dedicated to telling the story of the 23 enslaved men, women, and children, who were forced to work there…”
Bradley: “It is their story that we are committed to telling at Philipsburg Manor and this inventory is the document with all of their names and the information about their ages, clues as to familial relationships, and their roles that really helps us tell that story and return their humanity to them.”
Colombo: “The Historic Hudson Valley says they strive to balance tradition and vision in order to bridge the past and present. Through incorporating new technology in their historical sites, to being committed to contemporary perspectives on history, the group says learning from the past is the gateway to a better future…”
Bradley: “In this day and age it is crucial that people understand the past, in order to comprehend and grapple with the present we are living in. We cannot come to terms with our own experience if we don’t understand those who came before us. And if we can't build empathy with the lives that they led and what they went through.”
HHV also has a new web campaign titled "People Not Property", aimed at bringing awareness to stories of slavery in the colonial North.
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