Kingsbridge Historical Society Gets Grant for Edgehill Renovations

The Kingsbridge Historical Society’s headquarters, the 135-year-old Edgehill Church, still relies on its original electrical wiring. With the exception of a few outlets, the system has seen minimal improvements in over a century.

A $99,000 grant from the New York State Council of the Arts will change that.

Currently, extension cords run along the floors and ceilings, with makeshift holes cut into the floorboards so wires can reach outlets on the lower level. To turn the lights on in the auditorium, KHS staff has to use the circuit breaker.

Nick Dembowski, KHS executive director since 2018, told The Press the updates are a much-needed change.

“We have light switches that look like something Thomas Edison invented, we have light fixtures that don’t work, and not nearly enough outlets,” he said.

The money will go towards a complete revamp — new wiring, additional outlets, emergency exit signs, electric smoke detectors and several ceiling fans.

The lower level, known as the undercroft, is also set for renovation. Years of severe water damage have left it discolored, with faulty lighting and parts of the ceiling either crumbling or missing entirely.

Once the undercroft has new ceilings, walls and lighting, it will serve as an improved, welcoming space for residents to connect past just the auditorium upstairs. Tom Carey, KHS president, estimates it will be able to hold more than 20 people.

“Down here, we can have community gatherings, and even do something like a coffee hour, where we show people some of our archives,” Carey said. “People can see — show and tell — things that are historically significant.”

The grant has been in the works for more than a year. Staff hopes construction can start in mid-October and be completed within a few months.

But there’s still work to be done. The grant leaves KHS about $16,000 short of covering all renovations. If residents raise half of this amount, an anonymous donor will match contributions. The community have started to answer the call.

“We’re already at over half of what we need,” Dembowski said. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the support we’ve gotten... including a lot of heartfelt letters expressing gratitude for what we’re doing.”

Neighbors have shown up for KHS since it acquired Edgehill in December 2022. Kit Boyce, a carpenter, has dedicated his skillset to improving the building’s roof. After moving to Spuyten Duyvil three years ago, Joyce noticed the site and joined as a volunteer. Now, he is a board member.

“I started coming over here and pre-bending the shingles,” Boyce said, explaining the outdated material needed to be replaced, “Pulling out the old ones, cutting out the nails … and then [Carey] said, ‘Well do you want to be on the board?’”

Others have a similar story. Gerry Bogacz, a former urban planner, has volunteered since May. After retiring, Bogacz reached out to KHS to lend his expertise. He helps to organize archival material, file it and enter it into a computer database.

Renovations to the undercroft will not only make it a better community space, but will also help preserve antiquated documents and relics, some of which are over a century old. If the humidity in a space can be better controlled, any incidence of mold can be too.

“I was looking at a map today that was dated in 1865,” Bogacz said. “Artifacts like that, it’s very important that they be kept in a way that they don’t degrade any more than they already have.”

Residents like these are a testament to the progress of KHS. Before moving into Edgehill, which no longer functions as a church, the organization had been active since 1949.

“When we first started, the building didn’t have running water. It didn’t have a heating system. It was just sort of me and the old-timers of [KHS] trying to figure out what to do there,” Dembowski said.

Now, there can be as many as six volunteers working at once during the week.

“It’s already becoming a community hub,” he continued. “We have people working on cataloging our archive. We have people working on repairs. We have someone taking care of our garden. People are chipping in — it’s meaningful.”