| ZZ-310604-26 | Collections and Infrastructure: Cooperative Agreements and Special Projects (Challenge Grants) | Friends of Alice Austen House, Inc. | The Great Chain and the Austen Townsend Legacy | 2/1/2026 - 1/31/2027 | $25,000.00 | Victoria | | Munro | | | | Friends of Alice Austen House, Inc. | Staten Island | NY | 10305-2002 | USA | 2025 | U.S. History | Cooperative Agreements and Special Projects (Challenge Grants) | Collections and Infrastructure | 0 | 25000 | 0 | 25000 | A special exhibition that would feature, on loan, two links of the Great Chain, which was a physical barrier to prevent British naval advancement in the Hudson river and manufactured by the ancestors of Alice Austen. An award would support staff salaries, signage and publications for the exhibition, public programming, a video tour, and shipping of the chain links.
The Alice Austen House (AAH) was once home to two original links of the Great Chain—an iron barrier stretched across the Hudson River during the Revolutionary. These historic links were forged by Sterling Iron Works, owned by Peter Townsend, the great-grandfather of Alice Austen’s grandmother. The Austen family proudly displayed the links above the fireplace in what is now the museum’s educational historic exhibit space, reflecting their deep patriotic heritage. Tragically, Alice Austen lost her fortune in the stock market crash of 1929 and was forced to sell many of her beloved possessions, including the Great Chain link. For decades, the link was believed lost to history—until it was recently rediscovered in the collections of Boscobel House in upstate New York. As part of the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence, the Alice Austen House will host a special exhibition featuring the return of this historic artifact on loan. The exhibition education and public lectures. |