New Grants and New Research

Grants
We are starting the year with news of more funding for OHRH. Thanks to the advocacy of former Assemblyman Tom Abinanti and Leader of the NY State Senate, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Town of Greenburgh has received two $500,000 grants.
 
Senator Stewart-Cousins relayed her firm support for Odell House with these words: “I am happy to announce a new capital grant of $500,000 that I secured to support the restoration and renovation of the Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters that played such an important role in the Revolutionary War. It had been in a state of continuous disrepair, unprotected and vandalized for over 30 years until the Town of Greenburgh assumed ownership in 2020. Since then, with my support, the Town has received other State funding to renovate this historical structure. I applaud the formation of The Friends of OHRH and its leadership who have led the charge and done so much to restore the property so it can be turned into a public museum by 2026 in celebration of our country’s 250th anniversary.”   
 
Enslaved People at Odell House

An essay that tells the story of the relationship between the Odell family and the four enslaved people living on the farm in Greenburgh during the period from 1800 to 1830 is now posted on our website.
 
This project took over a year to complete and involved the research talents of Emily Yankowitz, American History PhD candidate at Yale University (whose work was funded by a grant from the Westchester County Board of Legislators) and primary researchers Dan Weinfeld, OHRH Board member, and Susan Seal, President of OHRH.
 
As historian Jon Meacham wrote recently in the New York Times, “The messy, difficult, unavoidable truth of the American story is that it is fundamentally a human one. Imperfect, selfish, greedy, cruel—and sometimes noble.” So too is the story this essay tries to address. We conducted extensive research about the individuals enumerated in the census. While we found little specific information about these people, we were able to draw conclusions about their lives from other narratives and from the physical space of OHRH. We are optimistic that other sources of information will become available, and we will be able to update the story; we welcome receiving comments and more information from other scholars.

OHRH in New Book About the American Revolution

In 2021 Bob Thompson contacted OHRH President Susan Seal and asked to see the house for a book he was writing about important sites of the American Revolution and how their physical properties contributed to our victory. The book has just been published and we are proud that Chapter 21 begins with his visit to OHRH. It is a very readable book that makes history accessible to even the casual student. Learn more about the book at the publisher’s website.

Save the Date
On May 20 the Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters will welcome the public to our site as part of the Follow the French tour of three important places where the French forces encamped in Westchester in 1781. The French arrived first in North Castle/Armonk, then came to OHRH and then marched to present-day Yorktown (New York) on their way to Yorktown, Virginia. Each location will be part of the May 20 event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More details will come soon.
 
THANK YOU for Your Donations to Our 2022 Campaign
It is because of you that we are able to plan events like Follow the French and our upcoming Colonial Day on September 29 and 30. As the cultural landscape plan for OHRH reaches completion, your funding will pay for its execution. We look forward to welcoming you to walk along new paths and see recreated gardens soon.

For those of you who would like to contribute this year, please use this link or mail your check to Friends of OHRH, 14 Rochambeau Drive, Hartsdale, NY 10530.