Beaver Island Historical Society Welcomes You to Our Past
In Response to the COVID-19
Currently, the Beaver Island Historical Society museums are closed for the winter season. We are still planning to open for the 2020 season on June 21. We will provide summer event updates on social media and our websites. If we are still experiencing mandated government restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 we will adapt our plans accordingly.
All of our public programs, events, and tours are canceled through May 3. This includes the New Deal Art and Music Weekend that was scheduled for April 17 & 18 in the Detroit / Ann Arbor area. Full refunds are being offered. Given the rapidly changing nature of the outbreak, we are not announcing a new event date at this time. The safety of visitors, members, staff, and volunteers is our top priority, and we will continue to monitor new developments closely.
Sincerely,
Lori Taylor-Blitz
BIHS Executive Director
email: bihistory@tds.net
The Beaver Island Historical Society is putting together an art exhibit: June 21-September 12 focused on the Island’s unique environmental biodiversity. We are calling artists to participate in Expressions of Nature- Beaver Island. The exhibition is open to all artists – professional or amateur – who wish to submit their own original works. Entry Deadline May 1, 2020 - View Details & Entry Form
PRE-ORDER YOUR NEW EDITION OF THE BIHS COOKBOOK NOW!
The anticipated release date is May 15th.
The cost will be $20.00 plus tax and $3.50 for postal delivery.
The Beaver Island Historical Society was founded in 1957 to collect and share the fascinating history of Beaver Island. A remote island in Lake Michigan, it has witnessed many interesting and unique historical events, and has been home to various groups including Native Americans, a Mormon branch known as the Strangites, Irish immigrants, fisherman, lumberjacks, and many more.
King Strang
The Historical Society currently operates two museums on the Island, the Print Shop Museum and the Marine Museum, as well as two additional historical sites: Heritage Park and the Protar Home. We offer several resources and services to our visitors, including genealogical research, copies of archival photos, and a series of historical journals and other books for purchase. Additionally, we host many events throughout the year to promote the Island’s history.
Explore our history, find out about the king, fishing, shipwrecks, island life, natural history, our Irish heritage, and much more.
For an overview of Beaver Island History please visit: http://www.beaverisland.net/beaver-island-history
Museum Hours
The Print Shop is closed until May.
The Marine Museum can be toured until Nov 15 by appointment.
In the spring: May 1 - June 20 by appointment.
Museums will open for regular hours on June 21, 2020 through September 30, 2020.
Please call 231.448.2254 for more information.
Construction Update
Please note on your donation for which project you would like to apply it to or it will be applied to the general fund. Read about our various projects below.
The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that a legacy benefactor, George Bisbee of Jackson MI, provided the Society just over $500,000, which will be used for financing the Print Shop Addition, including some of the exhibits. The Board is also grateful to the many Island benefactors who have supported the expansion concept and contributed to the capital campaign already and to those future benefactors who will continue to support the Society in fulfilling the vision to share the unique historical stories of the Archipelago through the renovated and expanded museum.From Our Facebook Page
View the most recent updates at https://www.facebook.com/BeaverIslandHistoricalSociety/
Good news for our members, community and friends of Beaver Island. Over the fall and winter BIHS volunteers worked hard at digitizing an earlier edition of the Historical Society Cookbook. The new edition has all of the original recipes plus new recipes from our Island Families and longtime Summer Residents. Thank you for everyone's efforts!
The book order is currently at the printer and after our communities get the all clear to resume operations the cookbooks will be ready to distribute. The Historical Society is looking at an approximate date of a May 15 release date.
If you would like to pre-order an advance copy, please visit our website. The price will be $20.00 + tax and $3.50 for postage to mail off the island. The postage is an estimated media postage rate. If the postage is higher, we will contact you. Island in-person pick-up should be available at the museum May 15. This will be based on Island public health recommendations.
The original cookbook was published to help establish the Historical Society and convert the Print Shop into a museum. This new edition has a similar mission.... to help fund the construction of the new museum addition and the future restoration project of the Print Shop's original structure.
Please visit www.beaverislandhistory.org/store/ to place your order or email bihistory@tds.net to reserve a copy.
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COVID-19 BEAVER ISLAND PUBLIC STATEMENT
In response to the COVID-19
Currently, the Beaver Island Historical Society museums are closed for the winter season. We are still planning to open for the 2020 season on June 21. We will provide summer event updates on social media and our websites. If we are still experiencing mandated government restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 we will adapt our plans accordingly.
All of our public programs, events, and tours are canceled through May 3. Sadly, this includes the New Deal Art and Music Weekend that was scheduled for April 17 & 18 in the Detroit / Ann Arbor area. Full refunds are being offered. If you purchased a ticket, please check your email for refund details.
Given the rapidly changing nature of the outbreak, we are not announcing a new event date at this time. However, the mural will return to the island in time for our June 21 opening.
The safety of our community, visitors, members, staff, and volunteers is our top priority, and we will continue to monitor new developments closely.
Sincerely,
Lori Taylor-Blitz
BIHS Executive Director
email: bihistory@tds.net
Spring is almost here and summer is not far behind! We hope the epidemic threat is behind us!
Looking forward to our summer programming we will have several new exhibits! We are hard at work preparing for a June 21 opening date. A sneak preview of the new museum space: we will have the following on display:
The restored New Deal Mural: 'Hauling in the Net' by Zolton Sepeshy.
New exhibits:
'The Natural History of Beaver Island' by Wil Cwikel
'Expressions of Art- Beaver Island' www.beaverislandhistory.org/expressions-of-nature-beaver-island-art-exhibit/
'Surveying the Archipelago & William Ives ' by Robert Cole.
'Who Was Here Before You?' An Archaeological exhibit about the Mormon Print Shop site and Protars. Curated by the 2020 NMU Museum Studies Class.
Expressions of Nature- Beaver Island Art Exhibit
www.beaverislandhistory.org
The Beaver Island Historical Society is putting together an art exhibit focused on the Island’s unique environmental biodiversity. We are calling artists to participate in Expressions of Nature- Beaver Island.
Photography by Frank Solle / Stillpoint Photography