Porch History of 2025: “Kingsbridge at the Dawn of the Revolution” with Nick Dembowski

1775 was 250 years ago. At that time the people of Kingsbridge did not know that the most dramatic and violent 8 years in the history of the area were about to begin. The Revolutionary War would transform the neighborhood from a lush and fertile farming community into a muddy battle-scarred military camp with forts on every hilltop.

For the community that was here, 1775 was the year that everything changed. The men of the area formed a militia for defense and the Continental Congress ordered the area fortified. But why here? Why did George Washington consider it a “pass of the utmost importance?” And how did local people feel about the ideas and events that were reshaping America and their lives?

On August 27th at 6:00 PM, join us for Dyckman Farmhouse Museum’s LAST Back Porch History lecture of the season featuring historian Nick Dembowski, who will take you on a virtual tour of Kingsbridge and northern Manhattan in the years before the war, leading up to the Declaration of Independence.

Nick Dembowski is a Bronx local historian and Executive Director of the Kingsbridge Historical Society. He was the lead curator of the Kingsbridge Remembers 1775-1783 exhibit at the Kingsbridge Historical Society. He is also the Site Historian of the Van Cortlandt House Museum.

Date: Thursday, August 27th

Time: 6-7pm

Cost: FREE!

Virtual option? YES! Register HERE!

Location: Livestream via Zoom and in person at Dyckman Farmhouse Museum (on the corner of 204th and Broadway)