Bowne House: Mapping the Underground Railroad in Flushing and Beyond
Published March 7, 2024
“Treasures of New York: Bowne House” is part of PBS’ Black Excellence Block Party
“Treasures of New York: Bowne House” is part of PBS’ Black Excellence Block Party series, in honor of Black History Month
The episode will air on NY Channel 13 on Sunday, February 18 at 7pm
Come on over to our block party in February! We are celebrating Black excellence during Black History Month with a look at Black Americans who have made indelible marks on history with their artistry, professional achievements, and activism. Their stories inspire film premieres and broadcasts this month, as well as the illuminating documentaries and episodes to stream in February, including a series Maya Angelou produced and hosted in 1968.
- PBS Thirteen
Treasures of New York: Bowne House
Sunday, February 18 at 7 p.m.
From the fight for religious freedom, to the Underground Railroad, Treasures of New York: Bowne House is our local production that traces the history held in a 17th century house that’s now a museum in Flushing, Queens. Bowne House the only recognized location in Queens on the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
Beginning with John Bowne (1627-1695), a white man who immigrated to New York in 1649 from England, the film explores the role generations of Bowne House occupants have played in the history of New York City. The museum is also a research facility with archival holdings describing the role Bowne family members played in the Underground Railroad in New York.
The episode dives into the life and work of John Bowne and his descendants, exploring his imprisonment for hosting Quaker meetings and his detailed, handwritten journal. Bowne demanded the right to “liberty of conscience,” which set the stage for the guarantee of religious freedom in the First Amendment.
Grant Awarded by Greater Hudson Heritage Network for Conservation of a 1909 Painting of Mrs. Robert Bowne Parsons
Bowne House has in its collection a 1909 painting by Edwin B. Child (1868-1937) of Mrs. Robert Bowne Parsons, wife of documented underground railroad conductor and nursery co-owner Robert Bowne Parsons. Mrs. Mary (Mitchell) Parsons is notable on her own for her single-handed preservation of the family ancestral Bowne House after her purchase of it at a tax auction in 1886 and subsequent request in her will that the house be preserved. Once conserved, her painting will assume its rightful place next to a portrait of Robert Bowne Parsons by the same artist.
Mrs. Mary (Mitchell) Parsons, 1909, Edwin B. Child
Painting Conservation funding will be supported through the NYSCA/GHHN Conservation Treatment Grant Program administered by Greater Hudson Heritage Network. This program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional support is provided from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. Conservation treatment will be done by Williamstown Art Conservation Center, Inc.
THE IRISH ECHO NEWSPAPER
“The House on Bowne Street”
by Peter McDermott
On December 13th, 2023, an article about Bowne House was featured in The Irish Echo newspaper. Learn abut the story of the oldest home in Queens, including its connection to Irish-American history.
TREASURES OF NEW YORK: BOWNE HOUSE
On Wednesday, November 29 at 8:00 p.m., the award-winning PBS program Treasures of New York will feature a one hour segment on Flushing, Queens’ Bowne House. The program can be seen on television station WLIW21 (Long Island’s PBS station) and livestreamed throughout the United States at wliw.org.
UNTAPPED NEW YORK
“10 Stunning Sacred Sites You Can Tour This Weekend”
by Nicole Saraniero, Insider-in-Chief at Untapped New York
Built in 1661, Bowne House is one of the oldest structures in Queens. The wood-framed, Anglo-Dutch Colonial house was originally owned by John Bowne, a champion of religious freedom who was arrested for holding a Quaker meeting in the house in 1662. His appeal to the Dutch West India Company helped lay the foundation for the First Amendment.
The spirit of Civil Rights advocacy continued through the following generations of Bownes. John Bowne’s great-grandson, Robert Bowne, was a well-known abolitionist. Mary Bowne Parsons and her husband Samuel Parson operated the home as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The house became a museum in the 1940s.
-Untapped New York
QNS News
“Our ongoing mission is to educate the public about the Bowne-Parsons family and their history of activism, including John Bowne’s fight for religious freedom and the participation of family members in the Underground Railroad,” Bowne House Executive Director Elise Helmers said. “We hope the event has inspired our guests to continue learning about this rich history and to support education initiatives and historic preservation throughout New York.”
-QNS
Epicenter-NYC & Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State
“A Historic Day in New York”
by Kim Barrington Narisetti
Epicenter-NYC partnered with the Underground Railroad Consortium of New York State (URCNYS) and the Bowne House on Sunday, Feb. 26, to offer our members a tour led by museum educators. The Bowne House is one of the few accessible abolition landmarks in New York City and also serves as a research library documenting that part of American history.
-Epicenter-NYC
QNS News: Times Ledger
Six Queens historical institutions are featured in the New York Landmarks Conservancy online exhibition showcasing photography and architectural history of 50 sites throughout the city as part of its 50th anniversary yearlong celebration.
- Article written by Carlotta Mohamed, February 2023
Bowne House Included in the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s 50th Anniversary Online Exhibition
In celebration of its 50th Anniversary, the New York Landmarks Conservancy has launched the 50 at 50 Online Exhibition. This exhibition highlights 50 historic sites across New York City that the Conservancy has helped to preserve and protect, including the Bowne House.
We are grateful to the New York Landmarks Conservancy for being a long-standing, pro-bono advisor to the Bowne house on preservation issues and honored to be included in its online, anniversary exhibition.
In honor of the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, Bowne House will be holding an on-site event 0n June,11 2023. More details forthcoming.
The Museum Association of New York
The Bowne House Archives and the Museum’s designation as a research facility by the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom are the subject of an extensive article in the January 2023 edition of This Month in NYS Museums, a newsletter published by the Museum Association of New York:
"The Strength of Archival Research: How the Bowne House was selected to join the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom”
by Megan Eves, Administrator
Press Release: Bowne House Historical Society Awarded Conservation Treatment Grant
A Black Doll from the Bowne House Historical Society Collection. Image Credit: The Textile Conservation Workshop, South Salem NY, 2022.
The Greater Hudson Heritage Network (GHNN) and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) have awarded Bowne House a generous grant to help conserve an important 19th century Black doll in the museum’s collection.
The doll will be conserved by The Textile Conservation Workshop, a South Salem, New York laboratory providing comprehensive services for the preservation of textiles. Workshop staff have identified 19th century black dolls as too often ignored in the past. They are now seen as evidence of the lived experience of their owners and makers, as well as a reflection of the larger forces of slavery and its legacy. Black dolls offer a unique prism through which to view race, representation and black lives.