CLUB SPONSORS HISTORIC QUEENS BUS TOUR

Increasingly, Americans are deficient in knowledge of American history.  The Queens Village Republican Club wants to do its part in changing that.  Particularly since Queens has some incredible historic sites, we will launch a bus tour of Queens’ most fabled locations.

The tour will take place on Sat., July 18. Starting time around 9 AM (actually time still to be determined). Tour will last all day. Tour goers will meet at the Queens County Farm Museum and the bus will end there.  See Bus Tour flyer for more details.   We will visit six sites, one for our luncheon.  The cost will be $89 per person which is all inclusive of bus fare, tip to driver, admission fees, and lunch which will include salads, wraps, coffee, soda, and cookies. The sites we will visit are:

 King Mansion.  Located in an 11-acre park in Jamaica, this magnificent home dates from 1730 with an 1806 expansion.  Rufus King was a signer of the Constitution and a U.S. ambassador to England.

Friends Meeting House.  This Flushing site is one of the oldest places of worship in the U.S., built in 1694, and still in operation. A small cemetery is situated in the rear.  The early Quakers associated with this Meeting House gave rise to religious freedom in America.

Bowne House.  Built at least by 1661, this wood-frame house also in Flushing is famous as the birthplace of religious freedom in America. John Bowne let the Quakers meet in his home and was banished from New York for doing so. Worshipers wrote the “Flushing Remonstrance” in 1657 protesting that they had a right to worship as they chose.

Poppenhusen Institute.  This French Empire-style Victorian building dating to 1868 was built by German immigrant and industrialist Conrad Poppenhusen and served as the village hall for College Point and the first free kindergarten in America.  We will view the beautiful ballroom and the jail cells in the basement.

Queens County Farm Museum. This, the busiest farm museum in the United States, if not the world, dates back to 1697 with a farmhouse from 1772.  These beautiful 47.5 acres of farmland constitute the largest remaining farmland in NYC.

Douglaston Club.  Our luncheon place is a yacht club that was originally the Van Zandt mansion built in 1819 and is located in the Douglas Manor Historic District, one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Queens.  Its interior still retains the charm of a private luxury home.

Due to space limitations at some of the historic sites, we will probably have to restrict tickets sales to 40 people.  Please reserve early to avoid disappointment.  Checks should be made out to the Queens Village Republican Club and mailed to James Trent, 242-33 90th Avenue, Bellerose, NY 11426.

There will be a souvenir journal issued to all participants.  Ad space is available for sale.  Email us at jtrent8830@aol.com to reserve space with no obligation.

See Bus Tour flyer for more details.