The Bowne House Historical Society operates the Bowne House, a circa-1661 Anglo-Dutch saltbox house in Flushing, Queens, known for its role in establishing religious tolerance in America: John Bowne's arrest for hosting Quaker meetings there in 1662, and his successful appeal to the Dutch West India Company, helped lay the groundwork for later constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. The Bowne family held the property until 1945, when it passed to the society, and the house opened as a museum in 1947; it was designated a New York City landmark in 1966 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Today the society focuses on education and historic preservation, offering guided tours, school field-trip programs, workshops, and research access to archival collections including the papers of John and Hannah Bowne.