Enlarged historical views of the Bird Homestead and the Meeting House, along with photographs of members of the remarkable Bird family, are on display at the Meeting House.
Enlarged historical views of the Bird Homestead and the Meeting House, along with photographs of members of the remarkable Bird family, are on display at the Meeting House. The 19th and early 20th century views are complemented by present-day, artistic photographs of elements of the two properties taken by New York Times photographer and Rye resident Suzy Allman.
An enlargement of an 1872 map of the Milton neighborhood is also on view, showing the area when it was a bustling village defined by a busy, working harbor. At the time, market sloops regularly departed from Milton Harbor carrying produce and goods from the area’s farms and artisans to New York City. An 1896 New York Times article describes the activity of Milton at its 19th-century height, stating, “It was not uncommon to see a row of loaded wagons extending a quarter of a mile up the road, waiting to be unloaded.”
Many Rye residents will remember Miss Doris Bird from her decades of service as Rye’s 
children’s librarian at the Rye Free Reading Room. The exhibit contains photos of her at home, at work, and accompanying her brother Roland on a trip to Montana, where he was searching for dinosaur fossils.
Roland was a pioneering paleontologist with the American Museum of Natural History, while his younger brother Junius was the museum’s Curator of South American Archeology and one of the most prominent archeologists in the world. Their other sister, Alice Bird Erikson, was a talented nature illustrator. Henry Bird, their father, was an entomologist specializing in the study of moths and butterflies, who imparted a love of science and nature to his children.
The exhibit is open to the public free of charge Saturday afternoons from 1-4 p.m. The Meeting House is located at 624 Milton Road. For further information, contact preservehistory@earthlink.net or 967-0383.
