The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Now, thanks to a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, the museum can announce its that coveted status at the grand iron gates to the estate.
director of curatorial affairs
Pomeroy Foundation grants fund markers for historic sites – dating from 1740 to 1914 – to educate the public, to support local historic preservation, and to promote historic tourism and economic development. Grants pay for a standard marker, mounting pole and shipping.
“Each year the Vanderbilt welcomes more than 100,000 visitors from the four corners of the globe,” said Lance Reinheimer, executive director of the museum. “This plaque announces to each visitor as they pass through our stately gates that the Vanderbilt Estate is an American treasure.”
The foundation, based in Syracuse, New York, launched its Historic Roadside Marker Program in 2006 to erect markers in towns and villages within Onondaga County, New York. Eventually, the program was extended to all counties in the state. The foundation has funded more than 140 historic markers 30 New York counties.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
