Opening the Pocket Doors: Celebrating Presidents' Day with President Susan Mullin

Happy Presidents’ Day! This week, we are sharing an image of former Brooklyn Historical Society President, Susan Mullin, who both enacted and embodied change within the Historical Society.  

Susan Mullin, originally from Virginia, moved to Brooklyn Heights with her husband soon after marrying. She immediately took to Brooklyn’s charm and diversity. While Mullin initially ran an antique shop on Pineapple Street, she knew she wanted to be able to give back to her new community. She became acquainted with the Long Island Historical Society (LIHS-the former iteration of Brooklyn Historical Society) while running an antique show in tandem with her shop. Mullin knew the institution had potential and wanted to be a part of it. Due to the perception of LIHS being a closed off and exclusive institution, Mullin is stated having thought, “What a waste. This is a fabulous asset to the community, let’s use it.”  She joined the Board of Directors in 1981 and set to work making changes, starting with restructuring the board and bringing on more like-minded board members who were open to change and new ideas. As part of the Board of Directors, she was among the group responsible for hiring Executive Director, David Kahn, in 1982. She saw that he felt similarly about the Long Island Historical Society and wanted to support his vision for its future in opening the institution to the wider community of Brooklyn. She trusted his leadership capabilities and knew that he was the person to lead the society into a new era. 

Mullin also went on to make waves in her own right. In June of 1985, Susan Mullin was voted to become the first female president of the Board of Directors in its entire history since it was established in 1863. Only a few short months later in October of that same year, the society achieved what Mullin claims is her proudest accomplishment: the name change from Long Island Historical Society to Brooklyn Historical Society. She believed it signified the catalyst for change for the institution. Brooklyn Historical Society went on to create more diverse exhibitions, welcomed a wider community of patrons, and embarked on educational programming for students. With the name change, Mullin became not only the first female president of the new Brooklyn Historical Society, but the first president under a new name and mission.  

The Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Archive Project is generously funded by the Leon Levy Foundation. 

Sources: 

The Brooklyn Historical Society Newsletter, July/August 1987, Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Records, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.  

Mullin, Susan, Oral history interview conducted by Zaheer Ali, October 14, 2015, Henry R. Stiles collection of Brooklyn Historical Society Institutional Memory oral histories, 2015.030; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.