Oyster Museum DBA Museum of Chincoteague Island

In the summer of 2023, the Museum of Chincoteague Island was fortunate to purchase the Beebe Ranch property thanks to generous donations from thousands of friends from around the country. Since then, we have been dedicated to renovating the home, creating exhibits inside the house and maintaining the property and ponies that live there. It has been an exciting and extremely rewarding experience.

Now, we are ready to move into the next phase.

With the house opening to the public for visitation the end of June, the Museum staff and volunteers are ready to work on the next phase.

Rebuilding Misty’s Barn.

Misty spent most of her life right here on the Beebe Ranch. Her barn, although small, became a place people found familiar and it was even incorporated into several illustrations from Wesley Dennis while he visited the ranch.

Over the years, guests would be able to explore the barn while visiting the ranch, learn about Misty and imagine what it was like when she lived there. Unfortunately, the barn was lost in 2019 due to an accidental fire while the Beebe family was out of town. Although the family was devastated, they were also grateful that none of the ponies were injured. One wish has remained: To rebuild the barn and make it look as close as possible to the original. That would sure make the ponies happy!

It is our goal to rebuild that barn!

Fundraisers have already been happening over the last year. As in the past, people with a love for Chincoteague, the ponies, Misty and Marquerite Henry have already found ways to support this dream. We are asking you to consider helping to make this dream come true. We have raised enough money to break ground and begin the work but much more is needed. We are asking you to rally around the Museum one more time to make this addition to the property happen.

100% of any money donated will go towards the building of Misty’s barn.

any donation is 100% tax deductible. The Museum Island is a 501(c)(3) organization.

EIN #54-0899483

as some of you may know, our museum opened in 1972 as the Oyster Museum. Officially, we have changed our name to the Museum of Chincoteague Island, but for tax purposes, it still will read Oyster Museum DBA Museum of Chincoteague Island

https://chincoteaguemuseum.com/

****Update: Through Go Fund Me, checks mailed and donations through our website, we have received $625, 000 as of 6/30/2023! I'm excited to say that the Museum of Chincoteague Island has purchased the Beebe Ranch! Any funds we receive through this campaign going forward will be used to maintain and preserve the Ranch.

Please share this story with your friends and family! We need your support! Thank you!

Chincoteague Island is fortunate to have visitors come from around the world to enjoy the untampered seashore, amazing wildlife, and quaint historical downtown. Many of those visitors also come because of "Misty of Chincoteague" a book published in 1947 by Marguerite Henry that inspired millions. "Misty of Chincoteague" tells the against-the-odds story of two siblings Paul and Maureen Beebe. These two children lived on the ranch with their grandparents, Clarence and Ida Beebe (affectionately called Grandma and Grandpa Beebe in the story). The charming story centers on the children's desire to buy the wild pony of their dreams and the challenges they faced to make that dream a reality. It is a heartwarming tale that made the Beebe family, Misty and the Beebe Ranch a beloved part of the literary world.

After 100 years, the Beebe family need to sell the ranch. The demands of maintaining the ranch plus the desire to use the funds to help their aging family is certainly a good enough reason to sell. We appreciate all they have done to preserve the remaining 10.3 acres of the ranch. This property is where Misty spent most of her life, and the original home still stands. The Beebe family has reached out to the Museum of Chincoteague in the hopes that the museum could acquire the property and maintain it as the ranch. Allowing it to be incorporated into the museum, would help protect it for many years to come. Because of the circumstances, the museum has been given one month to see if they can generate the funds to purchase the property.

The mission of the Museum of Chincoteague Island is to preserve, collect and protect the history of Chincoteague and Assateague Island. It is with this mission in mind that we would like to ask the public to join us to save the Beebe Ranch. If we can raise the funds in what can only be called a colossal, grassroots effort, we can preserve the ranch for future generations, keep a treasured part of Chincoteague intact and support the mission of the museum to protect our history, making the Beebe Ranch an officially an extension of the museum. Since we have been given one month to generate the funds, please understand that this can not be done without you!

We are asking you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Museum of Chincoteague Island.

Our goal is $625,000. The family has already been given an offer by a developer for that amount. If we are not successful in raising our goal, the donor will be able to decide if they would like their donation returned.

The Museum of Chincoteague Island's mailing address is PO Box 352 Chincoteague, Va 23336 if you are interested in sending a check. Donations can also be made through our website http://chincoteaguemuseum.com

******Please note that our info might say "Oyster Museum dba Museum of Chincoteague Island" but that is still accurate*****

Together we can make this happen!!!!