When George Washington visited the Square House in Rye, he offered simple appreciation for his accommodations. In a 1789 diary entry, the first president of the United States wrote, “After dinner through frequent light showers we proceeded to the Tavern of a Mrs. Haviland at Rye who keeps a very neat and decent Inn.”
When best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick visited Rye in the late 2010s, as part of his effort to retrace Washington’s travels during the nation’s infancy, he came away a bit more effusive.
“There was a Memorial Day celebration going on in the green beside the Square House,” he said in a phone interview with The Rye Record. “It was just great, and little did I know that this was about a quarter mile from where our daughter would end up living.”
Philbrick’s visit to the Square House factored into his book “Travels with George: In Search Of Washington and His Legacy,” and it became part of his family’s fabric, too — his daughter, Jennifer Philbrick McArdle, moved to Rye around the time of the pandemic.
On Feb. 5, he was recognized by the Rye Free Reading Room with the 2026 Mayor’s Award, which celebrates a person with local ties who has made strong contributions to the field of literary arts.
Around 50 people attended the ceremony, which featured a conversation between Philbrick and Barbara Davis, the executive director of the Westchester County Historical Society. Davis focused on Philbrick’s career and his research on the American Revolution.
“His body of work is a great contribution to literature and the written word,” Jan Kelsey, trustee of the Rye Free Reading Room, said before the event. “And given it was coinciding with the 250th of the Revolutionary War, it was an ideal time.”
His connection to Rye is solid enough that he knows his favorite spots around town (he shouted out Ruby’s Oyster House and Rye Town Park, where he takes his dog, Dora, when they visit).
Philbrick’s work as a history writer traces back to Nantucket, where he has lived since 1986. Though he initially wrote about sailing, he longed to write about history, and inspired by his surroundings — the setting of his favorite book “Moby-Dick” — he started digging into the island’s history.
“I began to frequent the archives on Nantucket and began to learn how to research history on the ground,” Philbrick said in a phone interview. “When our youngest, Ethan, got into first grade, I suddenly had ’til 2:30 in the afternoon to myself, and I wrote my first work of history.”
Since 1994, he has published multiple New York Times bestsellers, including “In the Heart of The Sea,” which recounts the whaleship Essex disaster — an incident that served as inspiration for Herman Melville. He has also written multiple books about the American Revolution and made on-camera appearances in Ken Burns’ new documentary about the Revolution. Currently, he is working on a book about the California Gold Rush.
Philbrick said he favors stories of conflict, leadership, and community. “I’m drawn to the chaos — darkness,” he said, “but what I inevitably find is the sense of humanity and promise that is always there too.”
What also fuels him is the ability to physically visit the sites of turning points in American history.
“It feels like an almost national obligation,” he said. “The old buildings might be torn down and a McDonald’s might be there, but the place speaks to you in a way that really forms my engagement with the archives.”
That curiosity has not only powered a storied career, but a connection to a town over 200 miles away from his permanent residence.
“We went to tons of historic homes all over the country, and I have to say, it was Rye where it was the most welcoming,” he said. “Even if our daughter hadn’t ended up there, I would’ve had a very fond association with the town of Rye.”
And apparently, Washington may have felt similarly about his time here.
“That Washington mentioned Rye and where he stayed is unusual in terms of how much he liked it,” Philbrick said. “You could say that Rye established a standard that it would be difficult for other towns to live up to.”
