The Jay Estate in Rye was home to one of our nation's greatest peacemakers, John Jay...

...and today, it is YOUR park

Our nonprofit, the Jay Heritage Center (JHC) is dedicated to transforming the 23-acre Jay Estate into a vibrant educational campus, hosting innovative and inclusive programs about American History, Historic Preservation, Social Justice, and Environmental Stewardship.

More about who we are and what we do

JULY 30,  6:30 - 8:30pm - For New Supporters & Existing Friends!

Join us for Rosé in the Roses!

Join us for Rosé in the Roses, a new, beautiful summer pop-up celebrating community, history, and philanthropy at Jay! Set against the backdrop of the Jay Estate’s award-winning gardens – including 7 types of roses. The evening offers a unique opportunity to learn about ongoing and future restoration projects and connect with fellow supporters.

Smart casual summer attire requested from sundresses to seersucker. Whether you are a longtime supporter or visiting for the first time, we invite you to spend a memorable evening in the gardens while helping to ensure the future of this treasured community resource. All proceeds from the event will directly benefit JHC and its mission-driven programming. Co-Chairs Eliza Swain and Katy McCrory

$95 per ticket, $180 for two tickets. REGISTER HERE.

Limited availability.

The American Story at 250 and Beyond Lives In Landscapes Like These

Monticello, Mount Vernon and the Jay Estate

What do Monticello, Mount Vernon and the Jay Estate have in common? They are each being mindfully reimagined by the award-winning landscape architecture firm of Nelson Byrd Woltz led by Thomas Woltz.

“These landscapes remind us that history is never static, telling the stories of the nation’s founders while revealing the lives of Indigenous peoples, enslaved comunities, immigrants, laborers and countless others whose contributions have shaped America across generations. Through thoughtful collaboration and design, these landscapes continue to reveal new perspectives, welcome new audiences, and connect us to the many stories that have shaped America… and continue to inform its future.” – NBW

All three projects are positioned to tell our whole shared history to a broader demographic of visitors. There are access points for everyone.

 

SEPTEMBER 19th 5:30 - 9:30PM TICKETS & TABLES NOW ON SALE

Celebrate America at 250 and Beyond

The Jay Medal for Service was created to recognize individuals who demonstrate a selfless spirit of commitment to and engagement with their community mirroring the multifaceted contributions of John Jay and his descendants. These honorees have demonstrated through their life’s work that our shared narratives as a country, complicated as they are, can be better illuminated through the highest caliber of ongoing scholarship and advocacy. We can think of no better way to celebrate America at 250 than with a toast to two of the most respected guardians of our nation’s nuanced evolution – Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annette Gordon-Reed, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University and award-winning Lincoln historian Harold Holzer. Joining us for the celebration will be Chief Judge of the State of New York and the New York Court of Appeals, Honorable Rowan D. Wilson and historian and philanthropist Elihu Rose who will present the awards at our Jay Medal Soirée. Includes cocktails in the gardens by our own reflecting pool, dinner, awards and dancing.  Read more here. Register before August 15 for a limited number of “Early American” tickets.  TICKETS & TABLES NOW ON SALE. 

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Land Acknowledgement

It is with gratitude and humility that we acknowledge that we are learning, speaking and gathering on the land of the Wiechquaesgeck (WE-QUEES-GECK), a subdivision of the Munsee people. The Munsee can be identified as speakers of Munsee, a dialect of the Lenape language. Today, the Munsee language is considered critically endangered, only spoken by a handful of elders on the Moraviantown Reserve in Ontario, Canada, each speaker over the age of 70. Lenape, or Leni Lenape was a name prescribed to them by colonists, rather than a label of initial self identification.
The Wiechquaesgeck were the historic owners of Rye, Harrison, and large parts of Westchester County, as they lived between the Hudson and Long Island Sound. Modern nations like the Stockbridge-Munsee, the Delaware Tribe of Indians, and the Delaware Nation trace their ancestry to the Munsee tribes, and continue to keep their history alive. We pay honor and respect to their ancestors past and present as we commit to building a more inclusive and equitable space for all. In the coming years, we plan to reintroduce species of fauna and flora indigenous to the Wiechquaesgeck into our gardens as a way to promote greater respect and understanding of their culture.

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