The Holland Society of New York

08/12/2025

On Wednesday September 24th at 11:00am EST, Zaskorski & Associates Architects will present a Zoom lecture about the restoration of the historic Cornelius Van Wyck House, located in Douglaston Manor, Queens. Overlooking Little Neck Bay, it was designated as a landmark by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1966 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Built in the early 18th century, the Cornelius Van Wyck House is one of the few remaining examples of Dutch colonial-era architecture in Queens. Its significance lies both in its architectural design and its connection to the early history of New York City. The Van Wyck family, prominent in the area’s development, originally constructed the house as a rural estate fronting Little Neck Bay, where trade with native peoples took place.

Over the years, the Cornelius Van Wyck House has remained a symbol of the neighborhood’s heritage. The restoration of the Cornelius Van Wyck House has had a profound impact on the Douglaston community.

Carlo Zaskorski, along with Jason Gross and Jason Galindo will brief us on the restoration project which aimed to restore the house to its original dignity while addressing the structural and aesthetic issues that had developed over time. The restoration was executed with approvals from the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to ensure all modifications adhered to landmark preservation guidelines. This lecture is free. Please click here to register https://bit.ly/4kZgNQn

On Wednesday September 24th at 11:00am EST, Zaskorski & Associates Architects will present a Zoom lecture about the restoration of the historic Cornelius Van Wyck House, located in Douglaston Manor, Queens. Overlooking Little Neck Bay, it was designated as a landmark by the NYC Landmarks Preservatio...

08/03/2025

Happy National Friendship Day! At the Holland Society we love our Friend members. If you are interested in the history of the Dutch in the early colonial times in America but don’t qualify for a hereditary membership, you can apply to become a Friend. As a Friend you enjoy all the advantages of being a part of the Holland Society except you will not have voting rights at the Annual Meeting. Check out the digital Friend application form on our new website which is really easy to use https://hollandsociety.org/become-a-friend-of-the-holland-society/

If you are interested in the Dutch colonial period in America and would like to enjoy the advantages of being a part of the Holland Society except you will not have voting rights at the Annual Meeting.

08/01/2025

Happy International Beer Day! Enjoy this interesting Times Union article about beer’s long and tasty history in the upper Hudson Valley! Henry Hudson already had beer on board his ship the Half Moon. Once the colony was established, the Dutch set up breweries in New Amsterdam and Fort Orange as fast as trading posts. The Hudson Valley region was perfect for growing wheat and hops. Cheers! 🍻

Albany is the near-forgotten brewing capital of the 19th century. The rest of the Hudson...

07/31/2025

On Thursday August 28th, Niagara Branch President David Quackenbush will be hosting the Holland Society’s Niagara Branch Annual Meeting & Dinner at the Saturn Club in Buffalo, New York. To give all our Members and Friends the opportunity to hear Russell Shorto’s presentation about his most recent book Taking Manhattan, the Niagara Branch Meeting event will be available via livestream as well. Register at https://bit.ly/46pt5xH Please email David Quackenbush if you are interested in attending in person dquack@qcoinc.com.

07/30/2025

On July 23rd, Jonas Danen, PhD-candidate of the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, presented a Zoom lecture on the Gardens of New Netherland.

This lecture looked at the multifaceted Transatlantic renderings of Dutch gardens in New Netherland. From the metaphorical “Republic as garden” (Hortus Batavus, as described above) to the kitchen garden planted behind a settler’s home to the ornamental pleasure garden designed after Dutch courtly gardens and everything in between; they all provided New Netherlanders with something essential to survive.

View the recording of the lecture on our YouTube channel https://youtu.be/jwnlTyk7YLk

07/29/2025

On July 24th, our Board of Trustees approved three New Line Members, five Legacy Members, and three Friends for election to the Society.

Those who are interested in joining the Holland Society of New York can do so through two means: through regular membership or by becoming a Friend of the Society. If you know of relatives that have been members of the Society, you can take advantage of the Legacy application based on their relation to you. For more information and eligibility requirements, visit our website https://hollandsociety.org/join/ or contact us at membership@hollandsociety.org.

07/24/2025

𝐇𝐒𝐍𝐘 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 - Today in our Holland Society Library Treasures series, we are featuring this lion-shaped Holland Society seal stamp. The lion rampant is a central figure in the Holland Society’s seal. Its right paw clutches a partly unsheathed, curved sword, encircled by a laurel wreath of seven leaves. This symbolized the seven States. In its left paw, the lion holds a bundle of seven arrows, tied together to represent the unity of the Seven States, and supporting the liberty hat.

On the right hand of the seal, the arms of the City of Amsterdam is shown, granted by Count William to the city in the year 1242. On the left hand side of the seal, the arms of the state of New York is depicted. The middle of the seal pictures a war ship of the period of 1609, sailing west. And the tree, shown at the base of the seal, is a symbol of the princess of Nassau, signifying that this vigorous sapling derived its glory from the parent branches. The motto ‘Eindelijk wordt een spruit een boom’ underneath the tree, rendered in Latin ‘Tandem fit surulus arbor,’ is taken from a medal of the period 1605.

The shape of the seal is similar to that of coins used in Holland about 1574, and later. The other emblems are copied from coins and medals used subsequent to the Confederation of the seven United Provinces of the Netherlands.

𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 ‘𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑦: 𝐴 𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 1885-1985’ 𝑏𝑦 𝐷𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑑 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑉𝑜𝑜𝑟ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛 1985. https://hollandsociety.org/the-seal-of-the-holland-society/

07/23/2025

It was great to welcome and discuss Netherlands-American heritage with a group of Dutch students from Leiden University at the Holland Society’s Library & Office yesterday. SIB-Leiden, part of the Dutch United Nations Student Association (DUNSA), founded in 1947, aims to inform its members of the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of international relations. The US was the destination for their Summer trip this year. They explored the different relations within the US, from human rights, defense and law to international relations, culture, history and politics during visits to Washington DC and New York.

07/22/2025

The July edition of the Holland Society’s enewsletter is now online! Read about the latest Holland Society news and upcoming events https://bit.ly/4mpVpoD.

On our website’s news page, you can read past e-newsletters to learn more about the Holland Society’s activities and projects. If you would like to receive our monthly enewsletter and are not yet on our mailing list, you can sign up on this page as well https://hollandsociety.org/newsletter-archives/

07/16/2025

One week from today on Wednesday July 23rd at 11:30am EST, Jonas Danen, PhD-candidate of the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, will present a Zoom lecture on the Gardens of New Netherland. This lecture will look at the multifaceted Transatlantic renderings of Dutch gardens in New Netherland. From the metaphorical “Republic as garden” to the kitchen garden planted behind a settler’s home to the ornamental pleasure garden designed after Dutch courtly gardens and everything in between; they all provided New Netherlanders with something essential to survive.
Join us for this interesting lecture and register now to obtain the Zoom link. https://bit.ly/4docLP9
🎨17𝑡ℎ-𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑦 𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛. 𝐴𝑟𝑡𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 '𝐻𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑠 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑠' (1622) 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑢𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒 (1589-1667).

07/09/2025

Members and Friends: check out the Holland Society online store for these Summer items. Log into your member account to order our tote bag, picnic blanket, and baseball cap (available in navy and white) https://bit.ly/4kro23e ☀️⛱

07/08/2025

Hope our members and friends had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! This month, the Holland Society will be operating on a summer schedule. Staff is available to answer your questions Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursday mornings. info@hollandsociety.org