For many years, the librarians and archivists of the Bryant Library Local History Collection have authored informative articles on topics of historical interest in the Roslyn area.
Initially published in the Bryant Library Newsletter and later on through our website, these articles contain valuable research contextualized with multimedia offerings from the collection. They also highlight our department’s research trends, which are often dictated by current events.
Browse articles below by their most recent publishing order, or choose a subject tag to narrow your search.
The Greta-Theo Holiday House
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, “women’s holiday houses” were large homes located in bucolic destinations where working women could take an affordable summer vacation in a natural setting. The single-gender aspect of these establishments was a practical...
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From Carriage Makers to Studebakers
As with many communities on Long Island and across the country, the early decades of the 20th century were times of great change in Roslyn. One of the most impactful changes was the transition from horse-drawn to self-propelled vehicles as...
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A View from the Mackay Estate by Stewart Donaldson
Stewart Donaldson (1907-1994) was born and raised on the 600+ acre Clarence H. Mackay Estate in Roslyn, which is now part of East Hills. His father, William, was a coachman and then a chauffeur, for the Mackay family from 1902...
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Learning Through Listening: The Christopher Morley Oral Histories
At the Bryant Library Local History Collection, our evergreen mission is to promote our holdings widely and spark new interest in the tales of Roslyn’s past. Many of the narratives we share are drawn from binders of news clips, oversized...
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Timeline of Roslyn History
Compiled by Myrna Sloam, 2000Â The following is a summary outline of selected events in Roslyn history. It should be noted that the name Roslyn did not come into being until 1844. Prior to that time the area was called...
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History of the Bryant Library
By Carol Clarke, Archivist © 2017 Although small, private lending libraries had existed in Roslyn as early as 1791 and a school district library had been established by the late nineteenth century, the earliest mention of the Bryant Library, recognized...
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Poetic Analysis: William Cullen Bryant’s The White Footed Deer
By Ariel Alyce Morabito, Digital Curator of the Local History Collection This past autumn, I was invited to read a poem at Cedarmere, the historic estate of our library namesake, William Cullen Bryant. The poem I chose was “The White...
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Mary Frances Pearsall Lynch: Bryant Library’s First Paid Librarian
Born in 1877 in the old Roslyn Hotel that stood on the southeast corner of East Broadway and Old Northern Boulevard, Mary Pearsall Lynch (1877-1943) was a lifelong resident of Roslyn Village and served as the Bryant Library’s first paid...
Read MoreOut of the Archives 2023: Programming the Local History Collection
For most of the Bryant Library Local History Collection’s 70-year existence, access was limited to those who could visit the Library and dedicate time to exploring our vast archives. While it is often still necessary to perform research onsite, technology...
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A Poetry Reading in Gerry Park
This past Friday, September 22nd, The Bryant Library hosted an open mic poetry reading in the Gerry Park gazebo. Organized by librarians Wendy Roque of the Reference Department and Ariel Morabito of the Local History Collection, the event was a...
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RHS Girls Basketball: 1923-1924 Season
While the members of the Roslyn High School Girls Basketball Team for the 2023 – 2024 season will likely don modern sportswear for their yearbook photo, 100 years ago, the girls of the 1923 – 1924 season wore very different...
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No Longer Forgotten: A Research Journey by Carolyn Brown
The following post was written by Carolyn Brown, a frequent researcher at the Local History Collection who has also produced several programs for the Bryant Library. Life’s journey is filled with so many zigs and zags, twists and turns. Every...
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Juneteenth Celebration with Carolyn Brown
Over the past several years, Carolyn Brown, an accomplished theatrical performer who is native to Long Island, has shared her genealogical research journey with the Local History Collection. The descendent of Roslyn residents of Black and Indigenous origin, Carolyn has...
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Frank C. Moore, Class of 1971
What do you know about the Harbor Hill Light, Roslyn High School’s annual yearbook? Did you know that the first yearbook was issued in 1927? The Local History Collection contains a near-complete run of these yearbooks which are available for...
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For 70 Years, “Connecting the Past with the Present … Creating a Legacy for the Future”
The Bryant Library Local History Collection was officially opened to the public seventy years ago. As reported in the Roslyn News, “about seventy-five residents and others interested in local history” gathered on Sunday, May 31, 1953, for the unveiling of...
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Poetic Analysis: Christopher Morley’s “Two O’ Clock”
“We heard a critic remark that no great sonnets are being written nowadays.” This editorial statement opens Christopher Morley’s “The Permanence of Poetry”, an essay from his variegated collection of musings, Plum Pudding. In response to such critics, Morley wonders...
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Marion Willetts Brower: Exemplar of Civic Service
Marion Willetts Brower (1888 -1974) played a major role in many of the civic improvements undertaken by Roslynites in the early twentieth century. She and her first husband, Ernest Cuyler Brower, came to Roslyn in 1910. Shortly after moving into...
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Translation as Poetry: Langston Hughs and Gabriela Mistral
As February morphs quickly into March, and Women’s History Month follows in the wake of Black History Month, it seems appropriate to note a little-known connection between American poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967) and Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957), who resided...
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Season’s Greetings from the LHC!
A hallmark of the winter season, holiday cards have been a favorite way to send good cheer since the late 19th century. Local artist Henry R. Diamond (1896–1989), most celebrated for his woodcuts and linoleum engravings, used his talents to...
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Spotlight on Educators: Keturah A. Townsend
For fourteen years, between 1899 and 1913, Keturah (Kate) Townsend taught Roslyn’s African American children in the segregated one-room “Colored School” annex operated by School District #3 in a frame building on Tower Street. Recalled by a peer as “an...
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Spotlight on Educators: Roy W. Moger
Roslyn elementary school teacher Roy W. Moger (1907-1992) is best remembered today as the author of Roslyn – Then and Now, the book that is still considered the definitive written history of Roslyn. First published in 1965, Roslyn – Then...
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Spotlight on Educators: Hazel Monestel
Born, raised, and educated in Roslyn, Hazel (Woodin) Monestel (1892-1986) taught three generations of Roslynites during her 48-year teaching career in Roslyn Public Schools. A kindergarten teacher at the Heights School between 1920 and 1950, Hazel continued as Kindergarten and...
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Moving Forward by Looking Back
By Carol L. Clarke, Archivist It’s been seventy years since the Bryant Library settled into its current home in the Roslyn War Memorial building in early 1952. It was a time of great change in the community. Two years earlier...
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Elementary, My Dear Roslyn
As students head back to school today, the Local History Collection shares pictures of Roslyn scholars from years past: From the Bryant Library Local History Collection, best wishes for a wonderful school year!...
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Five Generations: The Helms-Robinson Family of Roslyn
This year, in observance of Juneteenth, the Local History Collection celebrates a local family with deep roots in the Roslyn community. Thanks to Ms. Margie D. Robinson, a longtime Bryant Library patron, we recently learned that her family’s past in...
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