Located at 440 West Nyack Road, West Nyack, NY, (on the first floor of The Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters) the Heritage Museum is open for tours (by appointment only) on Monday to Friday, from 9am to 3pm. Tours are about 25 minutes in length. Admission is free and photos are encouraged.
The Heritage Museum is suitable for ages 13 and up and is wheelchair accessible.
Rob Jeffery – Museum Director
Rob Jeffery is a lifelong Salvationist who has held various positions within The Salvation Army. He moved to the USA Eastern Territory in 2015 from Canada. He holds a BA (Saint Mary’s University) and an MDiv from the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His fields of study include Salvation Army History and Church History. He resides in Rockland County, New York. He soldiers at the Spring Valley Corps with his wife Samantha, and his two children, Victoria and Hudson.
TaraMarie Profita – Registrar
TaraMarie Profita joined the Salvation Army Heritage Museum in November 2016 as our Registrar. She oversees all incoming donations and outgoing loans, as well as general registration documentation management and collections care. She received her Master’s degree in Art Market from SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology after graduating with a MS in Studio Art from the College of New Rochelle. TaraMarie has organized exhibitions at NoSphere gallery in New York City, as well as assisted in curating exhibits at Rockland Center for the Arts.
The Salvation Army ‘opened fire’ on the United States of America on March 10, 1880. An ‘army’ of eight evangelists descended the gang plank at Battery Park and declared “America for Jesus”.
Prior to this official start date, Salvationist Eliza Shirley and her family held Army meetings in Philadelphia in 1879.
James Jermy attempted to launch a chapter of William Booth’s Christian Mission in Cleveland, Ohio, as far back as 1872.
Some of the greatest pioneers of the early Salvation Army held key leadership positions here: men and women of valor
such as George Scott Railton, Ballington and Maud Booth, Emma and Frederick Booth-Tucker, Edward Higgins, and Evangeline Booth.
BY ROB JEFFERY
Today, Madison Square Garden in New York City is the home of the NBA’s Knicks, the NHL’s Rangers, college [...]
BY ROB JEFFERY
In 1900, in New York City, two Salvation Army “lassies” are rocking out on their [...]
BY ROB JEFFERY
Two Salvation Army generals are buried in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, N.Y.: General [...]
BY ROB JEFFERY
We are blessed in our museum archives to have many personal family heirlooms that belonged [...]
BY ROB JEFFERY
In the First World War (1914–1918), Salvation Army “Donut Girls” didn’t only make sweet [...]
BY ROB JEFFERY
In the winter of 1959 in Manchester, New Hampshire, a call to the fire department resulted in a call to [...]
BY ROB JEFFERY
During her tenure as the National Commander for The Salvation Army in the United States (1904–1934), [...]
BY ROB JEFFERY
In May of 1924, Commander Evangeline Booth took an automobile tour of Connecticut, stopping in various [...]
BY ROB JEFFERY
This handbill from 1877 announces the exciting goings-on of the Christian Mission. The Christian Mission was the precursor to The Salvation Army.
BY ROB JEFFERY
The Salvation Army in America has been led by some pretty big names. In the early years, Commissioner George Scott [...]
National Donut Day
Did you know?
In 1917, The Salvation Army embarked on a mission to provide spiritual and emotional support for U.S. soldiers fighting in France during World War I. At the personal request of General John J. Pershing, about 250 volunteers traveled overseas and set up small huts near the front lines where they provided soldiers with clothes, supplies, and of course, sweet treats.
Despite discovering that serving baked goods would be difficult considering the conditions of the huts and the limited rations, two officers — Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance — began frying donuts. These tasty treats boosted morale and won the hearts of many soldiers.
National Donut Day is held annually on the first Friday in June, and many local Salvation Army locations celebrate the work of the original Donut Lassies by delivering donuts.