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

Documentary Short Explores Black History in Westchester

If These Stone Walls Could Talk by Chase Gray

JHC is proud to present this documentary short by inaugural Purdy – Bell Fellow, Chase Aidan Randolph Gray. In 2025, Chase conducted original historical research about Black history in the Harrison – Rye – Mamaroneck area including the Jay Estate. His focus was the legacy of Charles Purdy and his family who were highly respected, free, Black landowners, farmers and contractors who lived and worked in Westchester during the 19th century.

Among the original source materials that Gray helped contextualize are handwritten accounting ledgers and associated receipts kept by the Charles Purdy and Bell families that confirm that the family built some of the dry-laid stone walls at the Jay Estate and other historic properties in Westchester. These items were generously donated to JHC by Carol Ubosi and her family for ongoing study and interpretation. Chase studied one of the ledgers “like a book with different chapters, chapters of different people’s lives that are somewhat intertwined.” WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

NMAAHC Acquires Kristine Mays Sculpture

BIG NEWS!

This week, as we reflected upon the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., we received exciting news about one of our favorite artists, Kristine Mays. Her work truly embraces King’s dream. We were overjoyed to learn from her representatives at Modernism Inc. that her sculpture Hush Harbor had been acquisitioned into the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)! It was our honor as an organization to present Mays’ exhibit Rich Soil in partnership with the American Women of African Heritage and NY State Parks in 2024. Read more here

My Rye Interview with JHC

Giving Rye

Giving Rye is a feature series created by My Rye Editor Jay Sears highlighting non-profits and community groups in and around the City of Rye. He generously asked to share a few thoughts about 2025 and 2026. MyRye.com: Tell us your organization’s mission 

Clary: Our mission is to transform the 23-acre Jay Estate into a vibrant educational campus, hosting innovative programs about American history, historic preservation, architecture, social justice, and environmental stewardship. Read the full interview here!

 

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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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