1776: A Defining Moment in the Story of Northern Manhattan with Don Rice

Nearly 250 years ago, in November 1776, Dyckman was consumed by warfare.

Thousands of British and Hessian soldiers attacked the hillsides and overwhelmed the American defenses there. For the next seven years, occupying forces sucked the area dry, leaving behind a countryside devoid of natural resources and pockmarked with wrecked farmsteads and roads. It was a defining moment in Inwood’s past.

Using primary sources and rare images, we’ll relive the events that led up to the battle of Fort Washington in 1776.

Come learn about the Dyckman family’s role in trying to protect the neighborhood and their home, and discover if anything still remains from those tumultuous times.

Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Time: 6pm-7pm

Cost: FREE

RSVP Required? Yes! Register on Eventbrite!

Location: Dyckman Farmhouse Museum (on the corner of 204th Street and Broadway)

Don Rice was board president of the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum Alliance from 2016-2025. In 2009, he founded the “Lost Inwood” series of popular local history talks and almost a decade later, in 2019, Rice co-authored a book of the same name with fellow local historian Cole Thompson. He’s lived with his family in North Manhattan for more than 25 years and is retired from a career in the Broadway Music field.

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Host or Publisher Dyckman Farmhouse Museum