The Bowne House Historical Society, Inc. AUTUMN 2013 BOWNE HOUSE AND ITS MISSION Bowne House, circa 1661, is the oldest house in Queens and one of the oldest in New York City. The house is an amalgam of Dutch and English traditions of building; continuity of ownership provides a unique view of changing cultural values and increased prosperity over time. Bowne House was occupied by nine generations of family, but events which took place in its early years secured its place in history. John Bowne is known for his courageous defense of religious liberty; his actions, and those of his fellow residents of Flushing, helped establish this principle in America. In 1662, Bowne defied a ban imposed by Governor Peter Stuyvesant on the practice of religions other than the Dutch Reformed Church by permitting Quakers to worship in his home. Bowne was arrested and deported to Holland, where he successfully pleaded his case before the Dutch West India Company. He returned home in 1664, and the principle of religious freedom was established in the colony. Bowne House is operated by the Bowne House Historical Society, whose mission includes the preservation of the house, its collections and its grounds for their historical and educational interest, for the significance of the house in the history of New York, and for its role in the establishment of the principle of freedom of conscience in America. Bowne House is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and is a member of Historic House Trust of New York. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE BOWNE HOUSE HISTORICAL SOCIETY Morris Hylton III, President Rosemary S. Vietor, Vice President Wellington Z. Chen George Farr Annette L. Geddes Edith T. Loening Hon. Frank Padavan Penelope B. Perryman Margaret D. Sullivan Roland Wade TRUSTEES EMERITUS Franklin Regan, Esq. ADVISORY COMMITTEE Donald R. Friary, Chair Jeanne Adair, Ph.D. Dean F. Failey Peter Kenny Anthony C. Wood James A. Trent Page 1 THE BOWNE HOUSE RESTORATION – PHASE I, EXTERIOR The exterior restoration of the Bowne House has been underway since April 1. This phase of the work is expected to be completed by May 31, 2014. To date, the following steps have been completed: 1. The required archaeology work has been done by Chrysalis Archaeology, Inc. and a complete report on the findings is due shortly. Explorations in the laundry shed, ca. 1815, located off the kitchen area, discovered a very large cistern under the wooden floor. The cistern is one of the largest seen, measuring approximately 8 feet across and 8 feet deep. A number of interesting artifacts were found in the cistern. 2. Structural work is underway on the west-facing wall of the house, along Bowne Street. The original 17th century wood sill in this area was weakened by damage from an infestation of termites in the 1930’s. Remedial work undertaken at that time was inadequate and this is being rectified. 3. Similarly, structural work is underway in the kitchen, cold room and laundry areas on the eastern side of the house. This area, too, suffered from termite damage. The newly-exposed cistern in the laundry will have a hatch door and interior lighting so it can be seen by visitors. A protective concrete barrier will be placed under the wood floor. 4. Windows, shutters and some doors as well as the porch benches were removed and taken for restoration to an offsite location. 5. Wood siding on the exterior of the main portion of the house will be removed and new 32” cedar shingles will be installed. These shingles will be painted in a color consistent with the period of significance selected for the interpretation of the museum. 6. The roof, which was replaced in the 1980’s and is failing, will be replaced with new cedar shingles in a size appropriate to an earlier period of the house. Roof work is beginning this month. 7. The chimneys have been re-pointed and a metal sleeve will be installed in one which is linked to the boiler. 8. Finally, a paint analysis was completed for the exterior of the house. This research, performed by Jablonski Building Conservation, examined layers of paint taken from various areas. Bowne House yielded many layers of paint, reflecting changing tastes and styles over a period from the early 1800’s through the 1980’s.( A similar study for the interior was done by the Bowne House Historical Society in the early 1990’s). In accordance with the earliest complete set of paint treatments found, the house will be a medium brown with contrasting trim and shutters. The front door was found to have had an unusual marbleized faux finish which will be replicated. This faux finish would have been popular during the 1830 – 1840 periods. Also planned is improved and historically appropriate exterior lighting. Once the project is nearing completion, windows, doors and shutters which were removed for restoration will be reinstalled. The next phase, Phase II, is being planned and will include minor restoration to some areas of the interior, along with historically appropriate interior finishes. Page 2 BOWNE HOUSE OFFICIAL GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY HELD Restoration work has been underway since April, and an official groundbreaking ceremony took place in June. Elected officials Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Comptroller John Liu, and Councilman Peter Koo were joined by Bowne House trustees, members and staff from NYC Parks and Historic House Trust for the festivities. Speakers included the borough president, comptroller and councilman and Franklin Vagnone of HHT. Trustee Annette Geddes gave remarks on behalf of president Marty Hylton. Visitors had the opportunity to tour the site, have a behind the scenes peek at the house, and see the work underway. Parks project manager Steven Foxworth was on hand to explain the restoration process and answer questions. Borough President Helen Marshall Council Member Peter Koo Honoree Donald Friary with Councilman Peter Koo, Deputy Queens Borough President Barry Grodenchik , Steven Foxworth of NYC Parks, and Bowne House trustees Page 3 THIRD ANNUAL COCKTAIL PARTY AND AWARD CEREMONY HELD OCTOBER 22ND The annual Bowne House cocktail party and Award This year’s event attracted many members and friends Ceremony took place on Tuesday, October 22nd in New as well as a record number of Bowne descendants. We York City. The recipient of this year’s historic preservation were thrilled to have so many turn out to honor Don award was Donald R. Friary, chairman of the Society’s and support our museum. Our speakers included NYC Museum Advisory Committee. Comptroller John Liu, Councilman Peter Koo, and Deputy Queens Borough President Barry Grodenchik. A Don was associated with Historic Deerfield for forty brief recap of restoration work underway at the house years; for twenty eight years he served as the museum’s was presented, and an array of photographs taken over Executive Director. After retiring from Deerfield in 2005, the past few months showed the guests the progress to Don now serves as President of the Colonial Society date. of Massachusetts. In addition to chairing the Bowne House Museum Advisory Committee, Don is on the We were pleased that so many of you were able to join Public Humanity Advisory Board of the John Nicholas us to celebrate the restoration and to honor Donald Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization at Friary for his service to the preservation of America’s Brown University, serves as a trustee of the New England historic resources. Historic Genealogical Society, and is a member of the Massachusetts Historical Commission. He is a principal of History for Hire and an independent consultant to museums throughout the United States. COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ACTIVITIES at THE MUSEUM While activities at the museum site have been somewhat From May to September, volunteers from Beautify limited by ongoing construction work, we have Historic Flushing weeded, watered and moved 35 cubic continued our outreach efforts, utilizing our gardens yards of mulch to protect the perennial planting beds, and expanding our efforts in the surrounding area of tree pits and other portions of the Bowne Farm land downtown Flushing. outside of the construction demarcated zone. Over 600 hours of public community service was performed. The scholastic year started with students from the Six major property owners along Bowne Street have agriculture school at John Bowne High School learning followed our practices and improved the horticultural team skills moving, stacking and protecting the portions of their properties. American elm and Black Cherry lumber that had been salvaged from the historic site’s damaged trees. During We again mobilized groups of local youth and participated the year four photography interns worked documenting in “It’s My Park Day”, cleaning up and improving heavily the historic house and garden pre preservation for our used Weeping Beech Park and Daniel Carter Beard Mall archives. in the densely populated urban area. Our annual summer end-of-school cookout and In October, we again participated in Open House New Volunteer Appreciation Day gathering was held in our York, an annual three day weekend tour of New York garden. Student volunteers were joined by trustees, sites across the five boroughs. Despite a shut-down of former docents, visitors and some of our preservation the number 7 train which serves downtown Flushing, crew. our brief opening window of one afternoon and only partial access to the site due to construction, we had We hosted six interns during the summer. Two computer more than 100 visitors. The opportunity of seeing an science college students worked on IT and computer data actual restoration of a 17th century structure, one of the / hardware consolidation.