Valentine-Varian House: Museum of Bronx History

The Valentine-Varian House is a colonial era house built by blacksmith Isaac Valentine on his farmland in 1758. During the Revolutionary War, the Valentine family fled, and it was inhabited mostly by British troops and was actually the site of six skirmishes between the the Americans and the British. After the war, the house’s ownership passed to the Dutch Reformed Church, and in 1791, it changed hands once again to become a property owned by the Varian family. After more than a century, it was purchased by a prominent lawyer, William F. Beller, who recognized the historical significance of the property, and in his will, he required that the house be preserved. It was thus donated to the Bronx Historical Society by his son, William Beller, in 1965 to be used as a museum of Bronx history. Today, it is the second oldest house in the Bronx. To this day, much of the original flooring and exterior has been preserved, making it a great example of colonial construction techniques and architecture.

Sources:

Munch, Janet B. “Valentine-Varian House.” Lehman College Art Gallery. Lehman College, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.

“Museum of Bronx History at the Valentine-Varian House.” Museum of Bronx History at the Valentine-Varian House. Bronx Historical Society. Web. 10 May 2014.