Mayor Mike Spano declared on October 28^th that Mary Hoar had been chosen to become the City of Yonkers’ first female historian. The volunteer job of Yonkers Historian aims to inspire the community to consider the City’s rich history and discover how it has influenced and defined Yonkers today.

At the moment, Mary Hoar serves as President Emerita of the non-profit Yonkers Historical Society, which works to maintain and promote the historic Sherwood House Museum, built about 1740, in order to conserve and promote Yonkers’ rich history. Since 1988, she has been a member of the board of the Yonkers Historical Society.

She has also written and edited the Yonkers Historical Society’s quarterly newsletter, moderated its social media pages, and oversaw all of the group’s events and programming. Hoar received the “Key to History,” the highest honor from the Yonkers Historical Society in 2004, in honor of her excellent services to the organization.

“Our strength always truly has been our people; the stories of our wonderfully diverse population needs to be told, to recognize and appreciate the contributions of all our Yonkers people!”

Mary Hoar

Mary, a fourth-generation Yonkers native, always loved hearing tales about her parents’ childhoods there. Her interest in history was sparked by learning about Yonkers throughout her parents’ adolescence and adulthood.

The City of Yonkers Historian will represent the history of the City by enticing the populace to research and learn about Yonkers’ past and the value of preserving its significant citizens, places, and events.