45-533: The Bronx County Historical Society is a private non-profit organization that collects and disseminates historical material and information about the New York City borough of the Bronx , as well as southern Westchester County, New York . The Society collects items such as books, reports, photographs, objects, and other artifacts about the Bronx as well as archival records documenting groups and individuals in
90-509: A county in themselves, or are completely separate and independent of any county. Each borough is represented by a borough president . Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island each have a Borough Hall with limited administrative functions. The Manhattan Borough President's office is situated in the Manhattan Municipal Building . The Bronx Borough President's office used to be in its own Bronx Borough Hall but has been in
135-487: A county. When the western part of Queens County was consolidated with New York City in 1898, that area became the Borough of Queens. In 1899, the remaining eastern section of Queens County was split off to form Nassau County on Long Island , thereafter making the borough and county of Queens coextensive with each other. The term borough was adopted in 1898 to describe a form of governmental administration for each of
180-898: A repository for Bronx municipal records. Since that date, The Bronx County Archives have acquired a dedicated building, located next door to The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library, equipped with moisture- and temperature-controlled storage space. The Bronx County Archives currently house 114 individual collections, which comprise around 3205 cubic feet and uniquely document many aspects of Bronx history. These aspects include Bronx businesses and economic development; city planning and infrastructure; civic organizations and clubs; culture and cultural institutions; capital disinvestment and urban devastation; education; healthcare; housing and cooperatives; local history; municipal records; politicians and political parties; and radicalism and community activism. The Bronx County Archives also contain especially rich documentation of Black and Jewish life and culture in
225-675: A short distance from its original location, and is now in the northern part of Poe Park. The cottage is a part of the Historic House Trust , listed on the National Register of Historic Places , has been administered by the Bronx County Historical Society since 1975, and is believed to have been built in 1797. The Poe family—which included Edgar, his wife Virginia Clemm , and her mother Maria—moved in around May 1846 after living for
270-472: A short time in Turtle Bay, Manhattan . At the time Fordham was not yet a part of the Bronx and the rural community had only recently been connected to the city by rail. The cottage, which was then on Kingsbridge Road to the east of its intersection with Valentine Avenue, was small and simple: it had on its first floor a sitting room and kitchen and its unheated second floor had a bedroom and Poe's study. On
315-490: A sizable A/V Collection, which contains more than 200 audio cassettes, 300 reel-to-reel tapes, 150 phonograph records, and 200 video cassettes and DVDs. Finally, the Research Library's Vertical file collection includes more than 400,000 newspaper clippings and other print ephemera on a comprehensive variety of Bronx subjects. The Bronx County Historical Society founded The Bronx County Archives in 1974 to act as
360-464: A word about religion." The college's church bells inspired his poem " The Bells ". During the Poe family's time in the cottage, Virginia struggled with tuberculosis . Family friend Mary Gove Nicholls wrote: "One felt that she was almost a disrobed spirit, and when she coughed it was made certain that she was rapidly passing away." Virginia died in the cottage's first floor bedroom on January 30, 1847. She
405-669: Is also used by politicians to counter a frequent focus on Manhattan and thereby to place all five boroughs on equal footing. In the same vein, the term outer boroughs refers to all of the boroughs excluding Manhattan, even though the geographic center of the city is along the Brooklyn–Queens border. All five boroughs were created in 1898 during consolidation, when the city's modern boundaries were established. The Bronx originally included parts of New York County outside of Manhattan that had previously been ceded by neighboring Westchester County in two stages; in 1874 ( southern Yonkers , and
450-527: Is the only facility in New York City solely dedicated to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of the history and heritage of the Bronx. The diverse materials in its collections document the growth and development of the Bronx from its early days as part of Westchester County in the seventeenth century, through its annexation to the City of Greater New York in the late nineteenth century, and up to
495-622: Is used in Connecticut , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania , where a borough is an independent level of government, as well as with borough forms used in other states and in Greater London . New York City is often referred to collectively as the five boroughs , which can unambiguously refer to the city proper as a whole, avoiding confusion with any particular borough or with the Greater New York metropolitan area . The term
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#1732771816915540-906: The Bronx County Courthouse for decades. Since the abolition of the Board of Estimate in 1990 (due to a 1989 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court ), the borough presidents have minimal executive powers, and there is no legislative function within a borough. Executive functions in New York City are the responsibility of the Mayor of New York City , while legislative functions reside with the New York City Council . The borough presidents primarily act as spokesmen, advocates, and ceremonial leaders for their boroughs, have budgets from which they can allocate relatively modest sums of money to community organizations and projects, and appoint
585-823: The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage , the former home of the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, and the Valentine–Varian House , a colonial-era farmhouse that also hosts the Museum of Bronx History. Since its founding in 1955, The Bronx County Historical Society has published, authored, commissioned, and produced popular books, monographs, pamphlets, periodicals, bibliographies, research aids, classroom guides, primary source collections, radio broadcasts, videos, musical performances, and other special interest items on many aspects of Bronx history. In addition, since 1964
630-682: The George Washington Bridge , has also been called the sixth borough. Yonkers , in Westchester County, is often referred to as the sixth borough as well. Edgar Allan Poe Cottage The Edgar Allan Poe Cottage (or Poe Cottage ) is the former home of American writer Edgar Allan Poe . It is located on Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx , New York ,
675-514: The Museum of Bronx History . The Society is also the largest publisher of books and articles about the Bronx and produces The Bronx County Historical Society Journal , the oldest continuously published historical periodical in the New York metropolitan area . The Bronx County Historical Society is a joint sponsor with Fordham University 's Department of African and African American Studies of
720-477: The New York metropolitan area as well as in other states, U.S. territories , and foreign countries. In 2011, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg referred to the city's waterfront and waterways as a composite sixth borough during presentations of planned rehabilitation projects along the city's shoreline , including Governor's Island in the Upper New York Bay . The Hudson Waterfront , in
765-691: The U.S. state of New Jersey , lies opposite Manhattan on the Hudson River , and during the Dutch colonial era , it was under the jurisdiction of New Amsterdam and known as Bergen . Jersey City and Hoboken , in New Jersey's Hudson County , are sometimes referred to as the sixth borough, given their proximity and connections by rapid transit PATH trains to the city. Fort Lee , in Bergen County , opposite Upper Manhattan and connected by
810-668: The Bronx African American History Project. Over 230 oral histories have been gathered so far, fourteen associated archival collections accessioned, and many books, articles, lectures, musicals, commemorations, and exhibitions have been produced. The oral histories are being cataloged at The Bronx County Archives. In 2010, the Society launched the Bronx Latino History Project, which highlights Latinos who lived or contributed to
855-452: The Bronx throughout its history. Because the Latino population is the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the borough since the mid-20th century (constituting more than half of the county's population), the Society's education department is continuing the process of increasing its collections to reflect the Bronx's ethnic diversity. The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library
900-754: The New York Shakespeare Society purchased the Cottage for use as a headquarters with the promise that it would be maintained in the condition in which Poe used it. However, concerns about any move of the cottage sprung up almost immediately. An article titled "Shall We Save the Poe Cottage at Fordham" was published in The Review of Reviews in 1896, urging the New York State Legislature to act on preserving
945-489: The Society has published an annual journal on Bronx history that contains scholarly articles, reminiscences, oral histories, book reviews, and poetry. Below is a partial list of books and pamphlets published or authored by The Bronx County Historical Society, 1955–2020: The official historian of the Bronx, though independently appointed, is traditionally headquartered at The Bronx County Historical Society. Boroughs of New York City The boroughs of New York City are
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#1732771816915990-584: The borough. It provides information to thousands of people each year through its Research Library and The Bronx County Archives , by mail, over the phone, and via digital communication. The Society also works with the New York Public Library 's Bronx Library Center and its branch libraries in sharing these resources. The Bronx County Historical Society is digitizing select portions of its collections. The Society honors Bronx High School valedictorians with an annual awards ceremony held at
1035-540: The borough. A growing number of archival collections document Latino life and culture in the Bronx as well. As of July 2020, finding aids have been created for the majority of collections and will be provided to researchers upon request. In addition to the Bronx County Historical Society Research Library and The Bronx County Archives, The Bronx County Historical Society also administers two national landmark historic houses,
1080-411: The city grew northward, it began annexing areas on the mainland, absorbing territory from Westchester County into New York County in 1874 ( West Bronx ) and 1895 ( East Bronx ). During the 1898 consolidation, this territory was organized as the Borough of the Bronx, though still part of New York County. In 1914, Bronx County was split off from New York County so that each borough was then coterminous with
1125-555: The city. In some document collections the boroughs used to be designated with a one-letter abbreviation: K for Brooklyn, M for Manhattan, Q for Queens, R for Staten Island (Richmond County), and X for the Bronx. The term "sixth borough" is used to describe any of a number of places that have been metaphorically called a part of New York City because of their geographic location, demographics (they include large numbers of former New Yorkers), special affiliation, or cosmopolitan character. They have included adjacent cities and counties in
1170-481: The cottage. The restoration and park creation were not without complaint, and many felt the money would be better spent on other ventures and further that the cottage's authenticity would be lost if it were to be moved. The decision to move was finally made in 1910 and on November 13, 1913, Poe Cottage in Poe Park was dedicated at the corner of Kingsbridge Road and the Grand Concourse . In 1922, further reconstruction
1215-519: The counties are considered to be arms of the state government), rather than officials of the city government, they are not subject to the term limitations that govern other New York City officials such as the mayor, the New York City Public Advocate , members of the city council, or the borough presidents. Some civil court judges also are elected on a borough-wide basis, although they generally are eligible to serve throughout
1260-489: The creation of modern New York City in 1898, when New York County (then including the Bronx), Kings County, Richmond County, and part of Queens County were consolidated within one municipal government under a new city charter . All former municipalities within the newly consolidated city were dissolved. New York City was originally confined to Manhattan Island and the smaller surrounding islands that formed New York County. As
1305-505: The five fundamental constituent parts of the newly consolidated city . Under the 1898 City Charter adopted by the New York State Legislature, a borough is a municipal corporation that is created when a county is merged with populated areas within it. The limited powers of the boroughs are inferior to the authority of the government of New York City , contrasting significantly with the powers of boroughs as that term
1350-482: The five major governmental districts that compose New York City . They are the Bronx , Brooklyn , Manhattan , Queens , and Staten Island . Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of the State of New York : The Bronx is Bronx County, Brooklyn is Kings County, Manhattan is New York County, Queens is Queens County, and Staten Island is Richmond County. All five boroughs of New York came into existence with
1395-467: The front porch the family kept caged songbirds. The home sat on 2 acres (8,100 m ) of land and Poe paid either $ 5 rent per month or $ 100 per year. Its owner, John Valentine, had bought it from a man named Richard Corsa on March 28, 1846, for $ 1000. The family seemed to enjoy the home, despite its small size and minimal furnishings. "The cottage is very humble", a visitor said, "you wouldn't have thought decent people could have lived in it; but there
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1440-489: The home with endorsements from Theodore Roosevelt , Hamlin Garland , William Dean Howells , Rudyard Kipling , Thomas Wentworth Higginson , Henry Cabot Lodge , Horace Scudder and others. In 1905, it was announced that $ 100,000 had been authorized by the state legislature for the restoration of the cottage and creation of a park in which to house the cottage after the owners were reported to be denying visitors access to
1485-518: The literary emporium." The Poe family befriended their neighbors, including the family of John Valentine, and Poe even served as a sponsor for baptism for one of the local boys who was named "Edgar Albert". Poe also became friendly with the faculty at what was then St. John's College, now Fordham University . He found the Jesuit faculty to be "highly cultivated gentleman and scholars [who] smoked, drank, and played cards like gentleman, and never said
1530-405: The media, they are technically and legally the district attorneys of New York County and Kings County, respectively. The same goes for Staten Island. There is no such distinction made for the district attorneys of the other two counties, Queens and the Bronx, since these boroughs share the respective counties' names. Because the five district attorneys are, technically speaking, state officials (since
1575-522: The members of the 59 largely advisory community boards in the city's various neighborhoods. The Brooklyn and Queens borough presidents also appoint trustees to the local public library systems in those boroughs. Being coextensive with an individual county, each borough also elects a district attorney , as does every other county of New York State. While the district attorneys of Manhattan and Brooklyn are popularly referred to as "Manhattan D.A. Cyrus Vance, Jr. ", or "Brooklyn D.A. Kenneth P. Thompson " by
1620-420: The name of the county unchanged. There are hundreds of distinct neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs of New York City, many with a definable history and character to call their own. Since 1914, each of New York City's five boroughs has been coextensive with a county of New York State – unlike most U.S. cities , which lie within a single county or extend partially into another county, constitute
1665-592: The next few years, though it tapered off by the end of the following decade, becoming less of a risk due in part to the increased use of live-in caretakers. In the late 1990s, the cottage was under the care of a graduate student in philology who lived in the basement. In 2007, the proposed Visitors Center for the Cottage and Bronx Historical Society in Poe Park was honored by the New York City Art Commission's 2007 Design Awards. The visitor center, designed by Toshiko Mori, opened in 2008 and
1710-511: The present. The Research Library houses over 7,000 books, directories, pamphlets, newspapers, and periodicals, a growing number of which now also exist in digital formats, as well as more than 200 atlases and sheet maps. Its extensive Photograph Collection comprises 75,000 photographs and slides, which include around 3,000 rare and vivid nineteenth- and early twentieth-century glass negatives; and 1,600 postcards, which primarily depict early twentieth-century Bronx scenes. The Research Library also has
1755-406: The three eastern towns of Queens County that had not joined the city the year before—the towns of Hempstead , North Hempstead , and Oyster Bay —formally seceded from Queens County to form the new Nassau County . The borough of Staten Island, coextensive with Richmond County, was officially the borough of Richmond until the name was changed in 1975 to reflect its common appellation, while leaving
1800-487: The towns of Kingsbridge , West Farms , and Morrisania ) and then following a referendum in 1894 (towns of Westchester , Williamsbridge , and the southern portion of Eastchester ). Ultimately in 1914, the present-day separate Bronx County became the most recent county to be created in the State of New York. The borough of Queens consists of what formerly was only the western part of a then-larger Queens County. In 1899,
1845-466: Was an air of refinement about everything." A friend of Poe's years later wrote: "The cottage had an air of taste and gentility... So neat, so poor, so unfurnished, and yet so charming a dwelling I never saw." In a letter to a friend, Poe himself wrote: "The place is a beautiful one." Maria wrote years later: "It was the sweetest little cottage imaginable. Oh, how supremely happy we were in our dear cottage home!" Poe's final short story, "Landor's Cottage",
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1890-577: Was buried in the vault of the Valentine family on February 2. Poe died a couple of years later on October 7, 1849, while in Baltimore . At Fordham, Maria did not hear of his death until October 9, after he was already buried. Shortly thereafter, she moved out of the cottage to live with a family in Brooklyn for a time. The cottage's immediate use following the Poe family is uncertain; however, it
1935-555: Was likely inspired by the home. In this home, Poe wrote his poems " Annabel Lee " and " Ulalume " while the family cat sat on his shoulder. During his time here, he also published his series on "The Literati of New York City", controversial gossip-like discussions of literary figures and their work, including Nathaniel Parker Willis , Charles Frederick Briggs , Thomas Dunn English , Margaret Fuller , and Lewis Gaylord Clark . As their publisher Louis Antoine Godey announced in his Lady's Book , they would soon "raise some commotion in
1980-635: Was reported to be occupied by an 'old southern lady'. In 1874, an article by M. J. Lamb published in Appleton's Journal described a pilgrimage to the site and noted the cottage was "dreadfully out of repair". The cottage was sold at auction in 1889 for $ 775 to William Fearing Gill in the first step of preservation after the Parks Department found it to be too expensive a proposition with rent approximately four times what Poe paid. Gill would later become Poe's first American biographer. In 1895,
2025-630: Was undertaken by the New York Historical Society to restore the cottage to its original condition. In 1962, Poe's Cottage was designated a Bronx landmark , and in 1966 it was recognized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as an official city landmark. In 1974 vandals struck, as in the past, leading to further criticism of the Cottage's management and preservation efforts. Vandalism continued to occur over
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