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Photo courtesy of the Rockefeller Archive Center.
Dr. J. William Hess, the first director of the Rockefeller Archive Center, in the vaults, 1979.
Established in 1974 to preserve and make accessible the records of the Rockefeller family, its philanthropic institutions, and other organizations the family has created, the Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC) has grown to become the premier research facility for the history of philanthropy. Its creation reflected the Rockefeller family’s growing awareness of the significance of its philanthropic legacy, the importance of transparency, and the benefits serious scholarship can bring to the vitality of the nonprofit sector. In addition to family members, RAC founding partners were the Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller University (which administered the Archive Center until 2008), and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which donated the lion’s share of the RAC endowment with gifts totaling $6.5 million. The Fund also contributed Hillcrest, the former home of Martha Baird Rockefeller in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and funded its renovation from personal residence to state-of-the-art archival facility.
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Photo courtesy of the Rockefeller Archive Center.
Hillcrest, the estate of Martha Baird Rockefeller, home of the Rockefeller Archive Center since 1974.
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Photo courtesy of the Rockefeller Archive Center.
Hillcrest, the estate of Martha Baird Rockefeller, home of the Rockefeller Archive Center since 1974.
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Photo courtesy of the Rockefeller Archive Center.
Martha Baird Rockefeller, second wife of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Browse the major events in the Rockefeller Brothers Fund's history