Our Mission
Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center preserves and interprets our site’s historic buildings, robust collections, and diverse stories, creating a space for ongoing learning and open dialogue about how the events of the past connect to the present and shape our future.
Our Vision
We strive to be a trusted and dynamic center of learning, committed to building the narrative about our site’s and nation’s history. We aim to promote engagement, curiosity, and critical thinking about the varied experiences that have shaped – and continue to shape – our communities.
Land Acknowledgement
To truthfully acknowledge our site’s history and present experiences, it is important to recognize the beginnings of this place. So, we take this moment to acknowledge that the history of our site does not start with Europeans.
The town of Ridgefield exists on the ancestral homelands of the Ramapough, Munsee Lenape, and Wiechquaesgeck people. They were the original stewards of this land on which Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center stands today.
We thank them for their strength and their resilience in stewarding this land and we hope to continue their legacy of protecting this site and its history.
Statement developed in collaboration with Darlene Kascak (Schaghticoke Tribal Nation), Education Coordinator & Traditional Native American Storyteller at the Institute for American Indian Studies, and Steven Burton (Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation), Tribal Historian for the Ramapough Munsee Lenape Nation and member of the New Jersey Commission on American Indian Affairs.
Learn more about how we deliver on our mission, work toward our vision, and continue to protect this site and its history by reading recent Annual Reports: