About
Mission Statement
To bring together people who are interested in the history of Valley Stream and to collect and preserve historical records for the purpose of educating and fostering interest in our community.
About
The Valley Stream Historical Society (“Society”), founded in 1973, is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) member-supported organization that collects and preserves Valley Stream history and educates the community. The Pagan-Fletcher Restoration, located at 143 Hendrickson Avenue, is a Village of Valley Stream property dating from the 1800s. The house sits on land once home to the Pagan's, considered the founding family of Valley Stream (their family named the village in 1853). In 1983, the house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Valley Stream Historical Society operates the Restoration which is open to the public for exhibits, tours, and research. The Society publishes the Panorama newsletter, sponsors lectures and special events, maintains a Society website, and is involved in other local history initiatives.
Beginnings
On July 7, 1972, a group of 12 Valley Stream residents (Mable Dibble Ackerly, Alan and Helen Dowdeswell, Edward Moore, Helen Rack Moore, Seymour Morgenroth, Howard Ruehl, Burt and Betty VanderClute, Lillian Rack Weaver, Carolyn and Dwight Young) met to form a historical society for the Valley Stream community. The Society received official recognition from New York State on January 17, 1973 and was granted a provisional charter in 1974. The major goal of the Society was to establish a museum to house the historical artifacts that had been collected and stored in the basement of the Village Hall and various member residences. The Society continued to operate under a Provisional Charter for the next two decades while working on its capital project to establish and open the Pagan-Fletcher Restoration to the public. In 1998, a committee comprised of Joan Duffy, H. Bertram Keller, Frank Koegler, Carol McKenna and Karen Selah met to complete the questionnaire required for the absolute charter by the New York State Education Department. Finally, on June 13, 2000, the New York State Board of Regents granted the Valley Stream Historical Society its Absolute Charter.
On Sunday, January 14, 2001, the Valley Stream Historical Society celebrated its Absolute Charter at the Pagan-Fletcher Restoration, with Mayor Ed Cahill and Village Trustees, society founders and officials, and society supporters. Former Mayor Dominick Minerva, who was the mayor in 1977 when the Village originally authorized the purchase of the house that is now the Pagan-Fletcher Restoration, was one of the honored guests. Hempstead Town Council Member and Former Mayor James Darcy presented a Town of Hempstead proclamation to the Society. Carol McKenna, Village Historian, recounted the history of the society and reviewed the accomplishments of the Society.
Information provided by Carol McKenna, Village Historian