New Rochelle, NY, October 12, 2011 Members of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association (TPNHA) have voted unanimously to approve a new home for the safekeeping of their archives. The members came together in support of the resolution to permanently transfer and deaccession the artifacts to Iona College in New Rochelle. With the membership vote complete, the Association can now proceed to the final phase of the legal process, which is to gain the approval of the NY State Court.
Since 2010 the artifacts of the Collection have been stored temporarily in state of the art archival facilities within Iona’s newly renovated Ryan Library. This is the same location the Board determined best meets all criteria for proper stewardship of the artifacts, public and academic access, and guaranteeing the Collection remains in New Rochelle.
Rick Palladino, the Director of Libraries at Iona College, had this to say about the vote, “Iona College and Ryan Library are proud to be approved by the members of the Thomas Paine Association as the new home of the Thomas Paine Archives. This wonderful collection is housed in our new facility, which features a climate-controlled environment and the protection of a monitored security system.”
TPNHA and Iona College have developed a close relationship grounded in the mutual interests of curriculum development and academic research devoted to Paine. Both institutions share a common purpose of serving New Rochelle, Westchester County, and the greater academic community.
The Thomas Paine National Historical Association was established in 1884 to educate the world about the life and works of Thomas Paine, and has been headquartered at 983 North Avenue in New Rochelle since 1925, when its Memorial Building was built. The building will continue to serve as an academic center and resource for Thomas Paine studies for the community and the world.
For more information vist: www.thomaspaine.org
City Museum
I think it’s about time New Rochelle had an actual city museum. I am not sure which building to use, but New Rochelle’s history should not be scattered all over town, and they shouldn’t be ensconced on a college campus.
There should be a museum that’s open to the public, and accessible to children for school tours.
Just my $.02
Life long resident (65 years)
Frank_D You Are Correct!
“Rich in History” is what the sign on the corner of Eastchester Road says about New Rochelle. It is truly a disservice to the city that the public at large should be deprived of a central, interactive and dynamic archive of all that New Rochelle has offered through the generations. I would submit that we already own such a place. That partisan politics and a mayor who is beholding to a developer for it’s campaign contributions is all that stands in the way of realizing that goal. That place is the New Rochelle Armory. In and of itself, it has helped shape world events through it’s military history. It has also served locally from sports events to dances to helping as a support facility in the aftermath of the events of September 11th. Search the archives on this site ( Why Would YOU Save the Armory is a good place to start) and please take a moment to visit http://www.newrochellearmory.com and see how time and time again, the past and current administrations have refused to allow anyone to step up and follow through with any plan that doesn’t line the pockets of a developer from Cleveland. Lack of vision and failure to understand how the city would benefit by this facility is the saddest part of this story. Help us change that. Together, we can improve the city by building on what we already own instead giving away the farm to help a developer profit on taxpayer subsidized private housing. I’m glad to hear from others who understand the value of handing down our past to those who follow us.