Bird Homestead and Meeting House Conservancy

The Bird Homestead, Rye Meeting House, and the Voris Archaeological Site – three properties bordering Blind Brook's saltwater estuary in Rye, NY – are intertwined both historically and environmentally. For many decades during the 19th and 20th centuries, the Meeting House on Milton Road was integral to the life of the surrounding village. Initially a one-room schoolhouse at another location, it wa

s moved to its present spot in the heart of Milton village in 1867. It soon was transformed into an Episcopal chapel, and the south addition housed a reading room and circulating library. In 1959, it became a Meeting House for the Religious Society of Friends, giving it the name we know today. The Meeting House now serves as the Conservancy's primary meeting place, hosting educational courses, lectures, acoustic concerts, art & science exhibits and is available to rent. Next door, a cluster of 19th-century small-farm buildings still stands on the banks of a tidal estuary. A modest, but beautiful, Greek Revival house conveys the spirit of a homestead loved and lived in for generations. This property nurtured the careers and lives of an extraordinary family. From giant dinosaurs to tiny insects, from Arctic voyages to South American excavations, from original art works to imagination’s gateway at the children's library, generations of the remarkable Bird family embarked on adventures in science, nature, and opening young minds that ranged over thousands of miles, delved millions of years back in time, and touched many lives – all from their historic homestead in Rye. The men of the Bird family each made indelible marks in their respective fields: Henry, the father, in entomology and his sons Roland and Junius in paleontology and archeology. Many of their discoveries can be seen at the American Museum of Natural History to this day. The women of the Bird family also left a significant legacy - from the atmospheric nature illustrations of Alice Bird Erikson to Doris Bird’s more than forty years as Rye ’s beloved children’s librarian. In a habitat area nestled between the Bird Homestead and the Meeting House, underground foundations still remain of three 19th-century buildings that no longer stand. Voris was an African American saloonkeeper who owned and operated this land beginning in 1841. It was unusual and therefore, historically significant, for African Americans to own property before the Civil War, especially to the degree of financial success achieved by Mr. Voris and his family. These historic properties are operated by the not-for-profit Bird Homestead & Meeting House Conservancy, with plans to:

Restore the historic buildings. Safeguard this precious habitat for shore birds and aquatic life. Provide educational programming for the public. Inspire and foster scientific curiosity in young people and adults. Make the Bird Homestead, Meeting House, and Voris Archaeological Site places of learning, exploration, and enjoyment for all ages and generations to come.