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

Sunday, August 23, 2pm -3:30pm

The Way of Pruning: Reading Nature in the Japanese Garden Tradition with Seiho Umeno.

Japanese master gardener Mr. Umeno will explain and demonstrate how attentive pruning can feel meditative through careful observation, waiting, and sensing what the garden needs. Umeno is the President & CEO of Umebachien Co., Ltd. and the Founder of the Common Garden.

Co-sponsored by the  Japan Society of Fairfield County, Inc. (JSFC). JSFC is a private non-profit membership organization comprised of volunteers who are dedicated to building knowledge and mutual understanding between Japanese and Americans through educational, cultural and philanthropic programs. FREE admission but pre-registration is required. REGISTER HERE

AUGUST 30th at 4pm

FREE Concert on the Lawn with Brooklyn Bluegrass Collective (BkBC)

FREE and open to the public.  Members of the BkBC have individually and collectively performed thousands of gigs nationally and internationally, from European theaters and concert halls to Tennessee house concerts to Pennsylvania barn weddings to NJ convention centers and every gazebo from Maine to Maryland. Join us in the Jay Mansion circle for a perfect summer afternoon with your friends and family. Bring your picnic blanket, cooler and lawn chairs and settle in for a consummate outdoor music experience. Past performers have included Blue Plate Special, Bandits on the Run, Ken Dircks Trio, Oh La La and more. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

 

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

Celebrate America at 250 and Beyond

Our 2026 Jay Medal 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 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. 

Become a Member or Donate Today!

Help us empower and educate kids and families! 

Learn more about Joining and Giving to support our 23-acre Park and Learning Center!

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.

We Value Your Privacy
JHC Privacy Policy