About the Family
Born in 1861, Conrad Voelcker (later spelled Voelker) emigrated from Edenkoben, a town in Germany's Palantine region, near the Rhine River. He arrived in New York in 1881, at the start of a decade that would see more than 1.4 million Germans emigrate to the United States. Having trained as a printer in Germany, Conrad became a successful publisher of German language newspapers.
In 1899, the year after Queens became part of New York City, Conrad, his wife, Elizabeth (1875-1919), and their young daughter, Theresa (1898-1992), moved to Flushing, purchasing the property for $4,500. The neighborhood, just beyond Flushing's bustling downtown, was developing as a new middle-class suburb called Murray Hill. It offered comfortable living with an easy commute into Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad.
After Conrad’s death in 1930, his daughter, Theresa, her husband, Dr. Rudolph Orth (1887-1948), and daughter, Elisabetha (1926-1995) moved into the house. Dr. Orth, the son of German immigrants, graduated from Cornell University Medical School in 1909. During World War I he served in France with distinction as an army surgeon. In 1921 he was appointed as a police surgeon with the New York City Police Department and served in that capacity until his retirement.
In 1935, the Orth family adopted a second daughter of similar age to Elisabetha, who they named Barbara. She became a nurse, married, and raised a family. Elisabetha trained to be a teacher and loved gardening, birding, the arts and history. She remained her mother's life-long companion.
All three generations of the family were philanthropic. Conrad provided funds for his hometown of Edenkoben to establish a foundation that still exists today. Theresa was active in Flushing community affairs and with her husband donated a building to serve as the Queens Police Post of the American Legion. Elisabetha ensured that her family's legacy would be remembered by donating the Voelcker Brothers newspapers to the Pfalz regional archive in Kaiserlautern, Germany. She later bequeathed her estate to establish the Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden.
From Home to Museum
In 1999, a newly formed board of trustees set to work on restoring the property. Family photographs from the early 1900s helped guide that work. Many of the family furnishings remained and community members donated items to contribute to an understanding of local home life and activity in the early 20th century.
In the mid-20th century, the family had the house exterior clad with red and white aluminum siding. When organizing the Museum, an examination of the exterior and building plans led to the discovery that the original shingle siding was preserved. The consulting architect guided the restoration of the house and transformation of the garden.
The Victorian-style garden uses gardening techniques and contains many plants typical of late 19th century home gardens, including two honeybee colonies. The garden is used for outdoor events spring through fall and opened to visitors year-round.
The property became a New York City Landmark in 2007 and was added to the National Register of Historic Sites as the Conrad Voelcker House in 2020.
From colonial period farmland homesteads, to a peaceful suburb, Murray Hill-Flushing continues to attract middle-class immigrant families in search of good homes, good neighbors and a comfortable life. Today, Flushing looks quite different than those 100 years the Voelker-Orth family called it home – but the house and grounds remain a welcoming oasis to all visitors.
