About the Archives

The Knapp House Archives contain over 15,000 items pertaining to local history, including photographs, maps, census data, books, pamphlets and manuscripts. The collection also includes the Parsons Family Papers, an important collection of papers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries from Herbert Parsons (a U.S. Congressman), his wife Elsie Clews Parsons (a prominent anthropologist) and John Parsons.

A state-of-the-art fire suppression system is being installed at the Knapp House to protect the archives and the structure. Documents, photographs and rare books are kept in a limited access, climate controlled area. The Rye Historical Society plans, over time, to digitize the collection and make the archives accessible on-line.