History House

Newburgh Free Library & Newburgh Historical Society to Collaborate on Hands-On History Initiative

The Newburgh Free Library and the Newburgh Historical Society are excited to introduce History House, a new program designed to help our community explore local history through creativity, storytelling, and hands-on activities.

History House invites children and families to step inside the past in a fun, welcoming, and imaginative way. Through art projects, miniature building, historic objects, storytelling, and workshops, young learners will discover how houses, neighborhoods, families, and everyday people all help tell the story of Newburgh and the Hudson Valley.

The program is designed to make history feel approachable and alive. Instead of only reading about the past, Junior Historians will have the chance to build, create, ask questions, and connect historic ideas to the places they see around them every day.

“At its heart, History House is about helping young humans see that history belongs to them,” said Jonathan Hamilt, President of the Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands. “When youth learn the stories of the places around them, they begin to see their community in a new way. They understand that history is not just something that happened long ago. It is something they are part of.”

You can take part in the initiative by attending any of the nine library workshops or by adopting a dollhouse kit and attending the workshops to learn how to build and decorate a miniature home inspired by the historic architecture of Newburgh.

“By transforming local history into an interactive, hands-on experience, this program perfectly complements our mission to inspire curiosity and critical thinking outside the classroom and into our community. We love that our children will have the opportunity to see themselves as active participants in Newburgh’s rich story, and we encourage our families to take advantage of this wonderful, creative journey into our past.” – Dr. Jackielyn Manning Campbell, Superintendent of Newburgh Schools

Completed houses will be on display as part of an Archtober Newburgh Exhibit from October 1 through October 24 prior to being auctioned off as a library fundraiser or taken home by the new owners!

This series is open to families of all ages and adults – children under 10 must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. You do not need to adopt a dollhouse to attend the workshops. Registration is required for the workshops.

How to Participate:

You can take part in the series in two ways: 

1. Adopt a dollhouse and work on it during open Hours at the Crawford House. Attend whichever library workshops interest you to help you design your dollhouse. Finish your dollhouse by September 24 to have it featured in the Archtober Exhibit at the Newburgh Free Library. Donate your dollhouse to the library fundraiser or keep it.
2. If you’re not interested in completing a dollhouse, you can still: attend any of the library workshops, attend the Archtober exhibit, and/or bid on the dollhouses that will be up for auction in October.

If you have questions or would like to adopt a dollhouse, email Kristen at kthornton-destafeno@rcls.org or call 845-563-3650.

Click below to register for a workshop. All workshops will be held from 6:00-7:00 p.m. at the Main Library, 124 Grand St. in Newburgh: