Pulitzer winner, Lincoln scholar to receive Jay Medal at Rye gala

Two of the nation's most decorated historians will receive the Jay Medal at the Jay Heritage Center's annual soirée on Sept. 19, at the 23-acre Jay Estate, 210 Boston Post Road.

Annette Gordon-Reed, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard and the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for History, will share the honor with Harold Holzer, a Lincoln scholar who has authored or edited 56 books on the Civil War era.

Chief Judge of the State of New York Rowan D. Wilson and historian-philanthropist Elihu Rose will present the awards.

The Jay Heritage Center framed the evening around an "America at 250" theme, describing Gordon-Reed and Holzer as among the most respected scholars of America's complex history in its event announcement.

Gordon-Reed won the Pulitzer in 2009 and the National Book Award in 2008 for "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family." She also holds a MacArthur Fellowship and the National Humanities Medal, and is serving as president of the Organization of American Historians in 2026. Her most recent book, "On Juneteenth," was published in 2021.

Holzer directs Hunter College's Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute and spent 23 years as senior vice president for external affairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before retiring in 2015. He received the National Humanities Medal in 2008 and was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2025.

The Jay Medal for Service was created in 2012 to recognize individuals whose commitment to scholarship, environmental stewardship, social justice or civic engagement mirrors the contributions of Founding Father John Jay and his descendants. The Jay Estate, a National Historic Landmark overlooking Long Island Sound, was Jay's childhood home and sits on Westchester County's African American Heritage Trail.

The soirée runs from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. and includes cocktails in the estate gardens, dinner, the award ceremony and dancing. Cocktail attire is required. Special guests include historians David Blight, Joanne Freeman, Beverly Gage and Frank Cogliano.

Tickets and tables are available online or by emailing [email protected]. The Jay Heritage Center, a nonprofit that manages the estate for New York State and Westchester County, receives no government funding; all operating costs come from donations and grants.

Upcoming at the Jay Estate