Bronx County Historical Society

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.

Things to Do

Museum of Bronx History The colonial-era fieldstone house, built c. 1758, in which the Museum of Bronx History is located was donated to The Bronx County Historical Society in 1965. The museum opened in 1968, after the house was restored. Visitors today can see the original fieldstone walls and oak and pine floorboards fashioned by the enslaved African craftsmen of the original owner of the house, Isaac Valentine. The main level of the museum contains three galleries that feature a rich rotation of exhibitions as well as a museum gift store.

The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library Provides unparalleled resources for researching The Bronx, its history, and its peoples.

Collections Welcome to the digital repository for The Bronx County Archives and special collections of The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library.

Get Involved

Membership Join us in preserving Bronx history. Support the work of The Bronx County Historical Society by becoming a member or renewing your membership. Read about the various membership levels and their benefits below.