Eastville Community Historical Society

What Eastville Community Historical Society does

The Eastville Community Historical Society (ECHS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1981 and chartered by New York State in 1986, dedicated to preserving the multicultural heritage of the Eastville neighborhood in Sag Harbor, New York (EIN #11-2596518). ECHS owns and maintains the St. David AME Zion Church (built 1839), widely believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad, along with the adjacent century-old cemetery in which African American, Native American (Montaukett, Shinnecock), and immigrant-era residents — including Sag Harbor whalers — are interred. The organization's headquarters, the Heritage House, is a restored 1925 Sears & Roebuck catalog house at 139 Hampton Street that functions as exhibit space, research facility, and tour operations center. ECHS operates with 1–10 employees under Executive Director Dr. Georgette Grier-Key and a volunteer board, delivering programs to history enthusiasts, cultural tourists, descendant community members, and educational institutions across the Northeast US.

ECHS generates revenue through three primary streams: tax-deductible individual donations across eight supporter tiers ($35–$10,000), grants from foundations such as the New York State Council on the Arts, Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, William G. Pomeroy Foundation, and the Suffolk County Department of Parks, and event revenue including the long-running Annual Fish Fry, Caribbean Cocktail Benefit Party, and ticketed lectures or film screenings. The go-to-market motion is event-driven, centered on walking tours (delivered via the Sag Harbor Partnership's mobile app), rotating exhibitions, community events, and partnerships with 20+ cultural organizations including Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater, John Jermain Memorial Library, Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, and the Archaeological Institute of America. Service offerings include guided and self-guided walking tours, rotating exhibitions, cemetery preservation, and research and educational programming.

Core operational assets are the archival collections (tintypes, historical photographs, documents, artifacts, and oral histories documenting 19th and 20th century Eastville residents) and physical infrastructure (the 1839 church, the cemetery, and Heritage House). Technology infrastructure is minimal — a Wix-hosted website, email newsletter via eepurl.com, and a third-party mobile walking-tour app — with no proprietary software, AI/ML systems, or API surface area. The organization has operated continuously for over four decades, with notable milestones including the 1996 opening of Heritage House, the 2015 unveiling of a historic marker at the cemetery, the 2015 receipt of the Suffolk County Historical Society Living Treasure Award, and the 2016 installation of a new cemetery fence.

Name

Eastville Community Historical Society

Legal name

Eastville Community Historical Society

Website

https://eastvillehistorical.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Eastville Community Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1981 that preserves Sag Harbor's multicultural Eastville heritage through ownership of the 1839 St. David AME Zion Church and cemetery, exhibitions, walking tours, and educational programming for visitors and descendants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historical Society and Cultural Heritage Services

NAICS

Historical Sites (71212), Historical Sites (712120), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAJADAI

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations)

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Museums, Galleries & Cultural Institutions

SECONDARYTHAJADAG

Archaeological Sites & Heritage Interpretation Centers

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Museums, Galleries & Cultural Institutions

SECONDARYTHAJAAAB

Cultural Heritage & Historic District Tours

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Guided Tours (City, Cultural & Historical)

Keywords

• Historical society
• Cultural preservation
• Museum exhibitions
• Heritage education
• Walking tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Sag Harbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals at various supporter levels including Executive Director's Circle ($10,000), Past President's Circle ($5,000), Heritage Hero ($2,500), Descendants Donate ($1,500), Art Advocate ($1,000), Benefactor ($500), Friend of Eastville ($100), and yearly supporters ranging from $35-$80.
2. Grants and Foundation Funding: Funding from organizations including New York State Council on the Arts, Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, William G. Pomeroy Foundation, and other cultural and preservation organizations.
3. Event Revenue: Revenue from events including Caribbean Cocktail Benefit Party ($30 per person), Fish Fry events, and other community gatherings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Eastville Community Historical Society preserves and interprets the multicultural history of Eastville, a historic Sag Harbor community. It operates the Heritage House as exhibit and research space, hosts walking tours of the historic Eastville neighborhood, organizes community exhibitions and events, maintains the historic St. David AME Zion Church and its adjacent cemetery, and offers historical research and educational programming.

Product overview

The Eastville Community Historical Society operates as a community historical society offering multiple interconnected services: the Heritage House serves as the primary facility for exhibits and programs; walking tours provide guided exploration of the Eastville neighborhood via mobile apps and self-guided routes; rotating exhibitions showcase historical collections and artwork; events programs engage the community through cultural celebrations; cemetery preservation maintains the historic St. David AME Zion Church burial ground; and research services support genealogical and historical inquiry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Heritage House Headquarters and primary facility of the Eastville Community Historical Society located at 139 Hampton St, Sag Harbor. Originally a 1925 Sears & Roebuck catalog house, it serves as exhibit space, research facility, and tour operations center, open year-round by appointment.
• Eastville Walking Tours

Quantifiable outcome

• Cemetery fence replacement completed December 2016, protecting the historic site
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Sag Harbor PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner for walking tours and fundraising efforts. The Sag Harbor Partnership created the Eastville Community walking tour in collaboration with ECHS and helped raise funds for the cemetery fence project.
• Association of Suffolk County Historical Societies (ASCHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECHS is a member of ASCHS, which offers special tours and programs for those interested in the history of Suffolk County, Long Island communities.
• Archaeological Institute of AmericamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided funding and support for cemetery preservation and archaeological surveys including ground-penetrating radar studies at the St. David AME Zion Cemetery.
• Sag Harbor Cultural DistrictminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFacebook-listed partner in the Sag Harbor Cultural District.
• Sylvester Manor Educational FarmmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Black History Month celebrations and educational programs exploring slavery history on the East End.
• Guild HallChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVenue partner for events including Black Angels Over Tuskegee performance and other lectures.
• Bay Street TheaterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVenue partner for Hidden in Plain Sight program and OBAMA-OLOGY production.
• John Jermain Memorial LibraryminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-host for film screenings and educational events including 'All Me' film screening and '13th' film discussion.
• Hamptons Arts NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for THAWfest, an annual celebration of arts institutions on the East End.
• Southampton Historical SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsored Pyrrhus Concer symposium and other educational programs.
• Ed Hollander Landscape ArchitectsminorOthersPro bono landscape design services for cemetery grounds preparation.
• Iron Fence ShopminorOthersProvided assistance in purchasing the cemetery fence from Kent, OH.
• Long Island Black Artist AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Caribbean Art Show featuring Long Island Black artists.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Sag Harbor Historical Society: Operates in the same Sag Harbor community with a comparable focus on preserving local history, operating historic properties, and serving Hamptons cultural tourists. Most directly overlapping peer given shared geography and similar community historical society model.
• Bridgehampton Historical Society: East End Long Island historical society of comparable scale, operating historic properties and seasonal programming; overlaps directly with ECHS in audience, donor base, and ASCHS membership.
• Sylvester Manor Educational Farm: Listed ECHS partner for Black History Month and slavery-history programming on the East End. Comparable nonprofit of similar scale preserving African American and immigrant heritage on Shelter Island, with educational programming and preservation of historic grounds.
• Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor: Long Island museum preserving whaling and Sag Harbor-related maritime history — directly connected to ECHS's Sag Harbor Whalers / whaling industry heritage programming and overlapping donor base.
• East Hampton Historical Society: Another East End Long Island historical society operating multiple historic house museums, exhibitions, and educational programs for a similar Hamptons-affluent visitor and donor demographic.
• Southampton Historical Museum: Neighboring Long Island historical society that maintains historic structures (e.g., the 1844 Shinnecock Nation monument and Rogers Mansion), runs exhibits and educational programs, and competes for the same regional donor and visitor pool as ECHS.
• African American Museum of Long Island: Long Island nonprofit museum dedicated to preserving African American heritage — directly overlapping with ECHS's core mission around African American, Underground Railroad, and multicultural working-class history.
• Montauk Historical Society: Long Island East End historical society that preserves multiple historic properties and runs educational programs; comparable nonprofit structure and reliance on donations, grants, and tourism.

Broad incumbents

• Long Island Museum: Larger Smithsonian-affiliated regional museum in Stony Brook with broader scope across Long Island history; serves an overlapping regional audience and competes for the same foundation and state arts funding.
• Preservation Long Island: Regional preservation nonprofit that operates historic sites (e.g., the Hagedorn House, Custom House) and advocates for preservation across Long Island — broader portfolio than ECHS but overlapping mission, donor pool, and partner network.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EastvilleCHS
• Facebookfacebook.com/EVHeritage
• Instagraminstagram.com/ev_heritage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eastville-community-historical-society

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eastville Community Historical Society