We are chartered!
On April 8th the New York State Board of Regents approved a provisional charter for the new museum! Thanks to a wonderful team at O’Melveny law firm, who contributed their services pro bono, all the paperwork was submitted last November. The Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters has now merged into a new legal educational non-profit, Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters. We will be known as Odell Rochambeau Museum and all our social media will soon reflect that name. Holding the charter allows us to operate the museum under an agreement with the Town of Greenburgh. As an educational non-profit we can now officially partner with all school systems and any visits to the museum will be part of the NYS social studies curriculum. Our Education Committee has met with the Greenburgh Central School District officials and will be creating pilot programs there. Those will be offered to all the school districts in Greenburgh by the calendar year 2026-2027 and eventually to other schools in Westchester.
Restoration Update
The new exterior siding is almost completed. The new roof, new windows, and cedar shingles (that will weather to grey), are a startling contrast to how the house looked in 2019. The rear addition is completely rebuilt and will house an ADA compliant bathroom as well as coat closets and storage cabinets. The French doors to the stone 1855 section are restored and will be ready for installation shortly. Chris McKenna, a reporter from LoHud, came to the house on May 9th with videographer, Tania Savayon, who made a video about the house. You can watch it here.
The final phase of work is the interior. Steve Tilly Architects delivered a preliminary plan to the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in February. They responded immediately with a few requested revisions and those changes were accepted by all. The final plans are delayed waiting for subcontractor reports, and approval of code variances by NY State, but the Town expects to be able to issue an RFP for this work as soon as possible.
Exhibit Design and Execution
The interior designs for the museum commissioned by OHRH are wonderful. Our job now is to find ways to execute the plans with the funding available. The Scarsdale Historical Society has given us $17,000 towards the bicentennial quilt exhibit and the other exhibits for the 1855 room. Estimates are coming in for cleaning the quilt and the custom case to display it. The audio-visual equipment for the room is ready to be ordered, as well as the platforms and a case to display artifacts. We have contracted with Minozzi & Sons in Ardsley to build the memorial on the grounds of the house for the four French soldiers who died while camped in Greenburgh in 1781. Jointly funded by Le Souvenir Français and OHRH, it will be unveiled in a private ceremony on October 24th.
Collection Management
As the organization officially designated to evaluate all the furniture, household items and artifacts that were in the house and shipping containers on the property, we are rapidly learning about things like insect damage and sadly, mold. We have hired experts to help us evaluate the condition of the material so we can decide what can become part of a permanent collection. This is very time-consuming and dirty work. The museum design identifies several pieces of furniture for various exhibits, and we are using that as a guide to choose the best examples. Some items will simply need cleaning, but others will need expensive repairs. Stay tuned for updates.
