The Library has a large Clippings File obtained from local newspapers, magazines, and webpages since the 1920’s – 2021. The clippings are organized in categories and are located in the bank of file cabinets near the microfilm and copy center on the second floor. Post 2021 newspaper clippings and veterans’ clippings are available to the public on the library’s in-house computers. Also available is the subject headings index, an alphabetical list corresponding to the clippings file subject folders, and Subject heading index, which includes a brief summary of the clipping, it’s source, date, location, if there are images, and related subjects that could assist with your research.

Postcards

The postcards from this collection, approximately 950, date from the late 1800’s through 1970, with most representing the period known asthe Golden Age of Postcards, 1907-1915. Depicting many aspects of life in New Rochelle, they document the development of downtown New Rochelle, waterfront, and select neighborhoods; giving us a glimpse of New Rochelle coming into its own identity as one of America’s premier suburban communities. Most items are from the Dominick Bruzzese and Karen S. Allen Collections with the majority of the Fort Slocum images being a gift of an anonymous donor. Additional materials to the collection are via gift or purchase. You can find the postcards here. 

Historic Photographs of New Rochelle 

The photographs in this collection, approximately 10,000, date from 1850 to present and chronicle the changing face of New Rochelle. Included are rare photographs of historic houses and daily life from the 19th century, the emergence of the downtown business district from dirt lanes to a bustling commercial district, scenes of people enjoying the waterfront and observing with pride the 225th and 250th anniversaries of the city. In addition to historic views there are images of prominent writers, actors, and musicians who lived here, as well as Veterans of WW I. Most of the items come from the collections of Dominick Bruzzese, the Huguenot and New Rochelle Historical Association, and the New Rochelle Tricentennial Commission. You can view the Historic Photographs collection here. 

New Rochelle Oral History Collection

Since its founding in 1688, New Rochelle, NY has become “home” to great numbers of new immigrants and migrants from the deep South. Their stories, as similar in promise as they are varied in cultural details, are represented in a collection of oral history interviews from 1988 – 2013: New Rochelle: Diverse Voices, One Community.

The narratives of this collection provide powerful testaments of the centuries-old challenges of crossing geographical — and cultural – borders. As this suburban-urban community continues attracting newcomers from all parts of the world, we hope that New Rochelle: Diverse Voices, One Community, will provide a springboard for conversations. The stories help us think about the common threads of immigrant/migrant experiences, the contributions that endure, and the impact recent immigration to New Rochelle may have on its future. Listen to the oral history collection here. 

Davids Island-Fort Slocum Cultural Resources Digital Repository

From 1861 to 1965, Davids Island, New Rochelle, NY was the site of several military encampments and army posts. This collection provides an important visual primary source depicting the historic architecture and landscape of Davids Island, and oral histories with former Fort Slocum service members and residents and others associated with Davids Island. You can view the collection here. 

Morgan H. Seacord Map Collection

The collection consists of 20 original hand-drawn maps executed by Morgan H. Seacord, a leading historian of New Rochelle in the 20^th century, depicting the southern portion of New Rochelle with particular attention to aboriginal encampments or villages, topographical features of the shoreline, including islands, and named properties and thoroughfares of the south end of the city as it existed in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. You can view the collection here.

Yearbooks of New Rochelle High School and other local schools

The yearbooks in this collection span the period of 1914 to the present and provide an annual description of athletic, cultural, social and other student organizations and activities at the New Rochelle High School. Photographs of faculty and staff, students; particularly the graduating Seniors, and to a lesser extent the Junior and Sophomore classes and their activities are documented within these volumes. The first annuals, 1914-1922 were called the Fleur- de-Lis, and in 1923 the yearbook was renamed The Rochellean.

The digitization of the New Rochelle High School Yearbooks is a collaborative project between the New Rochelle Public Library and New Rochelle High School. Student volunteers helped scan the yearbooks, making this project possible. You can view the collection here.

LOCAL HISTORY CLIPPINGS

The New Rochelle Public Library maintains an extensive Local History Clippings File of thousands of photocopied documents pertaining to New Rochelle; including connected people, places, institutions, etc. Due to space constraints, as of 2022, the New Rochelle Public Library is longer saving hard copy clippings; Access to these materials will only be available through our in-house computers.

The Local History Clippings Subject Headings is an alphabetical list corresponding to the clippings file subject folders.  Please note that, for finding information about a New Rochelle-related individual, the best place to start research is most often with the folder marked “BIOGRAPHY”— It might also be worthwhile to examine folders related to the organization that person may have been associated with, such as a house of worship or club.  In general, folders embracing a particular profession (e.g., ACTORS AND ACTRESSES; AUTHORS; LAWYERS) consist of articles which are about more than one New Rochelle-related individual in that profession.

To assist our patrons in seeing what materials are available in our clippings file we have created a Newspaper Clippings Index of our clippings based on the Subject Headings Index. Included in each entry are: a brief summary of the clipping, it’s source, date, location, if there are images, and related subjects that could assist with your research.

Clippings folders have been set up using the same subject headings that are used in the clippings files and are arranged chronologically.

Veterans clippings folders: A special folder has been created to honor those who have served our country in the armed forces.  This file is set up in alphabetical folders and within each folder each veteran is listed alphabetically by their last name.

If you were unable to catch these fascinating and informative local history and NRPL archive presentations live, you can now watch them on the NRPL Youtube page! Each presentation is linked below:

New Rochelle has an unprecedented number of historically significant properties. Over 1,000 are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places! It is no surprise – our community’s long and diverse history resounds in its amazing array of architecture, vibrant cultural fabric, and abundance of prominent individuals who made their homes here.

In this 75-minute virtual slideshow, Barbara Davis, New Rochelle’s City Historian and Co-Director of the Westchester County Historical Society, will provide a fascinating overview of New Rochelle’s historically significant properties and reveal how they are, or are not, protected. Presented 5/1/24

Local History Presentation: “Elizabeth Huntington Coley Fox: Sparks of Beauty, Shards of God”

New Rochelle Public Library Archivist David Rose gave an illustrated presentation, based on personal papers in the Library’s archives, of Elizabeth Coley Fox, an artist, school teacher, and resident of New Rochelle from 1928 to 1947.

The History of the George Washington Carver Garden Club of Westchester 

In this virtual presentation, NRPL Archivist David Rose  described the George Washington Carver Garden Club of Westchester’s activities and its relation to the work and discoveries of George Carver based on records in the Library’s archive. Presented 2/16/23

Discovering Your African American Heritage by Building a Family Tree

Joyce Sharrock Cole, Ossining Village Historian and certified genealogical researcher, shared how she researched her own family lineage and discovered her ancestry, and gave tips on how anyone can research their own family tree. Presented 1/14/23

New Rochelle’s Amazing Holiday Connections, from Rockwell to Rudolph

Some of America’s most popular holiday characters, songs, and imagery were created by New Rochelle residents! Norman Rockwell fashioned the modern-day Santa for the covers of national magazine, from his many studios here. J. Fred Coots penned the lyrics for the hit tune” Santa Claus is Coming to Town” from his home in New Rochelle’s Larchmont Woods. The tradition of the New Year’s Baby? The prominent New Rochelle illustrator Joseph Leyendecker was responsible for bringing that German custom to America. The program  revealed the stories behind these and other local holiday influencers, including Robert L. May, the man who grew up in New Rochelle and gave life to the timeless tale of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Presented 11/27/22

New Rochelle and the Arts: An Artists’ Community

Inside of History: Selections from the Library’s Archive

The New Rochelle Public Library, established in 1893, played a central role in promoting the arts, quickly becoming an educational leader in the community. In this virtual program, with many striking visual examples of documents and photos from the Library’s archive, NRPL Archivist, David Rose, explored the lives of both noted celebrities and others who contributed to the cultural and artistic diversity of the New Rochelle community. Presented 4/9/22

How to Research the History of Your New Rochelle House

New Rochelle has an abundance of older homes, as it experienced tremendous growth from the 1880s – 1930s, and then again post-WWII. Whether it has origins in the 18th or a mid-century dazzler, your house has its own unique history. This workshop will walk you through the steps using online and in-person resources at NRPL, the Westchester County Historical Society and the County Archives, and City Hall.  

• View Program PowerPoint Presentation Here
• View Historic Resource Sutton Manor Survey Here and Maps Here
• View Rochelle Heights National Register of Historic Places Application Here
  

History of the Wykagyl Neighborhood

Members of the Wykagyl Crossroads Neighborhood Association held a virtual “tour” of Wykagyl 325+ year history. From British soldiers to a renowned nursery, 17th century homes to “Stockbroker Tudors,” an erstwhile rail line to Westchester’s second parkway — every corner of Wykagyl reveals a fascinating story!

SUMMER 2020

New Rochelle Notables

A saint, national league ball players, renowned mathematicians, award-winning actors and actresses, best-selling authors, celebrated musicians, popular television personalities are all among the extraordinary individuals who have called New Rochelle “home.”

What amazing people have lived and worked here!

Davids Island and Fort Slocum

The island located just off New Rochelle’s shores was the location of a wide variety of military functions for over 100 years – including a Civil War Hospital, a WWI Recruiting Depot, a Chaplain School, a WWII Point of Embarkation, a Nike Missile site – and more. This 60-minute slide presentation includes images of the Fort as a ruin, and what it looks like today.

Three Leading Suffragists with Ties to New Rochelle

In honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 19th Amendment, this illustrated presentation will highlight three extraordinary women who were instrumental in the long battle that provided women with the right to vote. Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt each had distinct ties to New Rochelle.

“An African American Fife, Drum and Bugle Corps is not usually associated with the Ancient Tradition of Fife and Drum with three-corner hats and Revolutionary War uniforms. But the Charles Dickerson Field Music group could never be said to be ordinary. In fact, its history demonstrates how extraordinary this group was as it evolved from an activity of a segregated boy scout troop in 1926 into one of the nation’s preeminent fife, drum and bugle field music corps,” starts the introduction to the exhibit, We’ve Come a Long Way Together: The Charles W. Dickerson Fife, Drum & Bugle Corps, which was presented by NRPL during the month of February, 2020.

Area residents have strong, fond recollections of seeing the Charles W. Dickerson Fife, Drum and Bugle Corps march in local parades. The Corps’ magnificent drums resounded and bugles blared, as the crisply-attired musicians performed traditional field music that was passed down from generation to generation. The story of this extraordinary New Rochelle group was captured in the exhibit of richly-illustrated panels, with text researched and written by Professor Robert Wechsler, Ph.D. The exhibit also included a listening station with music performed by the Corps and artifacts loaned by its members. Tracing the Corps’ origins in the late 1920s and its rise to national honors as early as the late 1930s, the exhibit also highlights the Corps’ founders, unique music, key members and its travels here and abroad. The exhibit was made possible by funds from the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation.

Download the collection here. 

View the Exhibit Sources / View the Exhibit Credits

On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany.

Like other communities across the country, New Rochelle residents did their part to support the Americans fighting overseas by raising money for liberty bonds, buying War Stamps, mobilizing Red Cross volunteers to make bandages, conserving food and energy, and lending patriotic fervor to boost morale.

Unlike other American municipalities, New Rochelle’s World War I years were unique:

1. Fort Slocum, the country’s largest military recruiting depot east of the Mississippi, was located just off New Rochelle’s shore on Davids Island.
2. New Rochelle was home to a great number of the nation’s leading illustrators, many of whom lent their talent to the earliest, largest propaganda campaign the world had ever experienced.
3. The community’s historic ties to France and our “Mother City” of La Rochelle led to a wartime bond between the two cities, and an enormous war relief effort.

A hard cover book, A hard cover book, New Rochelle: Her Part in the Great War, was published by resident Conde B. Pallen, the publisher of the Catholic Encyclopedia, in 1920. It included “historical and biographical sketches of individuals and organizations who rendered valuable service to their country during the great World War.” Two thousand copies were printed before the type was destroyed. Fortunately, a scanned version can be found on-line today. Copies are also available for viewing in the Library’s E.L. Doctorow Local History Room. The book concludes with a listing of New Rochelle men who served in the war and a listing of all those who died in WWI active duty. Scans of those pages can be viewed here. We’ve also included an annotated list of the New Rochelle men and the one woman who died while in active duty, can be found here. was published by resident Conde B. Pallen, the publisher of the Catholic Encyclopedia, in 1920. It included “historical and biographical sketches of individuals and organizations who rendered valuable service to their country during the great World War.” Two thousand copies were printed before the type was destroyed. Fortunately, a scanned version can be found on-line today. Copies are also available for viewing in the Library’s E.L. Doctorow Local History Room. The book concludes with a listing of New Rochelle men who served in the war and a listing of all those who died in WWI active duty. Scans of those pages can be viewed here. We’ve also included an annotated list of the New Rochelle men and the one woman who died while in active duty, can be found here.

Photographs of many of those who died in active duty are part of the Library’s Local History collection. Forty metal plate photographs of New Rochelle men killed in World War I were first exhibited at the former New Rochelle Public Library, on Main Street and Pintard Avenue, in 1938. The plates were created from professional studio portraits. In some cases, military uniforms were “added.”  In 2010 the Friends of the New Rochelle Public Library provided a grant to have digital reproduction made of the plates, and to have the plates professionally conserved. The digitized images, as well as scanned images of the original studio portraits can be seen here.

Barbara Davis, now City Historian, wrote an article about a unique and highly significant WWI event that occurred in New Rochelle in December, 1918. Click here to read her articles, which appeared in the Standard Star newspaper on December 15 and 22, 1994.