King Manor Museum

Anyone familiar with Rufus King, the abolitionist signer of the constitution?

Alright, museums team, time for another primarily photos post while I work on catching up to myself and getting back on track with this newsletter. I’ll start this out by saying that the King Manor Museum is a historic house in Jamaica, Queens, which was once inhabited by a Rufus King and his family. King was one of the very first United States Senator and was one of the thirty-nine signers for the United States Constitution. King vehemently argued for the constitution to impose restrictions which would eventually become an abolishment of slavery, but eventually ceded his ground to compromise for what he believed would be the good of the developing nation. He continued to fight against slavery his whole career, and his son carried on the tradition after him.

The entry hall, with a bust of the eponymous King.

Note the mannequin in African dress and the kinara/kwanza candle holder.

King Manor museum had recently hired a local artist, Cheyney McKnight to install some of their works in the historic living room. The work is called The Ancestor’s Future: An Afrofuturist Journey Through Time, and the artists’ statement reads “Visitors will travel through Black America’s past to an imagined future of the African diaspora: one in which Black bodies and communities finally reap the full benefits of their labor, resources, ingenuity and creativity,”

The Anti-Hustle, by Elyse Ketura and Cheyney McKnight

A mannequin in Black American cultural costume sits at King’s piano

King’s study, with a bust of Alexander Hamilton in the back corner

The guest bedroom in the King House

The Kings’ sitting room

King Manor museum was also hosting the exhibition “Transfer at Jamaica”, which led guests through the Jamaica neighborhood’s long history as a transportation hub.

A map of the streets and transit lines of Jamaica from 1919

A collection of memorabilia celebrating various Jamaica transit lines, particularly the Long Island Rail Road

Ephemera referencing the trolley lines which once ran through Jamaica

My craft project— a cover for an imagined Austen-style romance entitled The Duke’s Trembling Hand

Unbeknownst to me, King Manor Museum was on that day hosting an event called Tea and Scandal. Tea, snacks, and crafting supplies were provided, an arts group called the Global Mosaic Foundation was running the thing with their members dressed in Regency-Era garb, and everyone was taking turns reading out loud through Lady Susan, a little-known short story by Jane Austen. It was a fantastic event, and I’m very glad I stayed for it.

King Manor Museum is probably one of my favorite historic houses that I have visited so far for this project. It really feels like they, more than any other historic house, are succeeding in connecting to the present-day community that surrounds this house while still celebrating the history that the house contains. I love that they’re bringing in local artists and letting them insert themselves into what other historic houses would consider a Sacred Space, I love that they’re celebrating hyper-local history even when it doesn’t necessarily directly tie to the kinda-famous person who once lived there, I love that they are acknowledging that one big draw that Old Places have is people(esp. young women) who want to cosplay being in Bridgerton and the organisation isn’t running from that. I think they’re killing it on all fronts.