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Southeast Lighthouse Built

In 1873, construction began on Block Island’s other lighthouse, Southeast Light.

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Hurricane days are the perfect excuse for a board

Hurricane days are the perfect excuse for a board game! Swing by the museum and enjoy our collection of games in the West Gallery. For those who want to take the gaming excitement home, we are offering a 10% discount on all the vintage board games in the shop! 🎲🌪️ Don't miss out on the fun!

Please join the Block Island Historical Society th

Please join the Block Island Historical Society this Thursday night (9/14) at 7:00 p.m. for Lester’s Vision: A Tour of Our Historic Monuments Connecting the Past to Every Island Cruise. Historical Society Board Member Kristine Monje will give a virtual “tour” of, and lead a discussion about, island monuments.
This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

Please join us Thursday, September 7th at 7 p.m. f

Please join us Thursday, September 7th at 7 p.m. for an evening devoted to stories of how the island confronted the challenges of the pandemic. The talk is hosted by Amy Jaffe, a former Block Island Historical Society board member, and a psychotherapist, who weathered the pandemic on the island.
This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The BIHS would like to thank all who made this yea

The BIHS would like to thank all who made this year's Summer Gala a great success! We are so grateful to generous our donors and patrons. ⁣
As a cultural institution, we uplift visitors with the Block Island history we continue to uncover each season. Our funding allows us to identify and archive thousands of artifacts and photographs to piece together a comprehensive, inclusive history. It allows us to expand our programming and update our exhibits for you to engage with and learn from.
We thank you from the South Bluffs to the North Light for your generosity!

A peek into this year’s Summer Gala! ✨ Thank y

A peek into this year’s Summer Gala! ✨ Thank you to all of our generous donors and patrons! 🥂

Please join us this Thursday night, 8/24, at 7:00

Please join us this Thursday night, 8/24, at 7:00 pm for Finding the Pirate Ship Whydah, 1717, presented by Bob Cembrola, a marine archeologist and curator for the Naval War College.
Bob will discuss the pirate ship Whydah which sank on Cape Cod in 1717. Her captain was Sam Bellamy from England, and his partner was Paulsgrave Williams of Block Island.
Bob started diving in 1972 and has worked on numerous shipwrecks in New England and the Caribbean. Although the focus is on the Whydah, he will also discuss some local dive sites, including U-853 and Revolutionary War wrecks in Narragansett Bay.
This event is free and open to the public. No tickets are necessary. Refreshments will be provided.

Today we mourn the loss of one of Block Island's h

Today we mourn the loss of one of Block Island's historic hotels while simultaneously giving thanks to the brave volunteers of @blockislandfire and first responders across the state who came to our aid last night to ensure this loss was not greater.
The Harborside Inn, built in 1879 as The Pequot House, was owned by Darius B. Dodge.
An 1886 advertisement for the hotel touted: "The health-giving isle, Block Island, is steadily gaining in popularity as a resort that restores health to the sick…Vitality and energy to the brain worker and those confined within doors…It is a refuge for those suffering from malaria or wishing to escape from infected districts."
In 1881, The Pequot House was under the management of the Ocean View Hotel, owned by Nicholas Ball.
By the early 1900s, the name was changed to The Hotel-Royal, home to the storied Orchid Lounge, a favorite watering hole for locals and tourists alike.
Later renamed The Harborside Inn, it remained in every iteration a sentinel of our downtown, standing watch over the ebb and flow of visitors boarding and disembarking from the ferries at Old Harbor. We mourn the fact that this beloved building has suffered the fate of other historic hotels on Block Island: The First National, The Hygeia, The Oceanview, and The Crown, to name a few.
The Block Island community will feel the loss of one of New Shoreham's most visible historic structures, a welcoming site to visitors and locals alike for nearly two centuries.
The Block Island Historical Society would like to thank our outstanding volunteer fire department and the mutual aid companies who contained the fire. We are grateful for your hard work and dedication to protecting this extraordinary island and its historic structures.

From Temperance to Tempests: Bar Life on BlockIsland
Join us at the Block Island Historical Society tonight, August
17, at 7 pm, for a brief look at the history of the
Island’s complicated relationship with booze. Then
we will open the floor to stories of Block Island’s
alcohol-induced shenanigans. Please come share!
This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

From Temperance to Tempests: Bar Life on BlockIsland
Join us at the Block Island Historical Society on August
17, at 7 pm, for a brief look at the history of the
Island’s complicated relationship with booze. Then
we will open the floor to stories of Block Island’s
alcohol-induced shenanigans. Please come share!
This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

Please join us tonight, August 10th, at 7 pm for P

Please join us tonight, August 10th, at 7 pm for Patchwork Practicality: Quilts of Block Island, to explore the community, activism, and artistry represented in Island-made quilts from the 1800s to the 1980s. The presentation by Janet Dionis, Education Director of the Block Island Historical Society will include quilt makers, quilting groups, historic trends, and materials, and will end with an old-fashioned “bed turning” showcasing the best of the collection, including the Spartan quilt made from shipwreck salvage. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.
A selection of Island made quilts are on display at the museum now until August 13th.

Please join us Thursday night, August 10, at 7 pm

Please join us Thursday night, August 10, at 7 pm for Patchwork Practicality: Quilts of Block Island, to explore the community, activism, and artistry represented in Island-made quilts from the 1800s to the 1980s. The presentation by Janet Dionis, Education Director of the Block Island Historical Society will include quilt makers, quilting groups, historic trends, and materials, and will end with an old-fashioned “bed turning” showcasing the best of the collection, including the Spartan quilt made from shipwreck salvage. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.
A selection of Island made quilts will be displayed at the museum from August 8-13.

We’re raising the tent - come raise your glass!We invite you to dance, dine, and enjoy bidding on items donated by Island businesses at the Block Island Historical Society’s 2nd annual Summer Gala on August 26th, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Tickets are $125 and available in the Museum Shop or online. Link in Bio.

What better way to learn about Block Island histor

What better way to learn about Block Island history than to tour our beautiful Old Island Cemetery? Spectacular views, sunsets, moonrises, and a glimpse into the past to honor and understand early Block Islanders and those lost on her shores. Join us this Thursday at the cemetery gate on West Side Road at 7 pm. Tickets are $20 and are available online. Space on the tour is limited, so sign up early at blockislandhistorical.org.

Have you ever wondered why the purchasers in 1661

Have you ever wondered why the purchasers in 1661 wanted to live outside the reach of the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony? Pick up a copy of Ted Sands’ James Sands Of Block Island, on sale in the Museum Shop, before he presents his genealogical approach to the history of the Sands family today, July 27 at 7 pm at the Block Island Historical Society. Ted sheds light on how the execution of the Quaker Mary Dyer in Boston, and the expulsion of Ann Hutchinson from the Bay Colony, may have been the deciding factor in moving his family to remote Block Island. His wife, Sarah, became a beloved midwife and healer on the island, and their stone home was sometimes used as a defensive garrison. The Sands' Mill site is commemorated by a stone marker across from the town hall at Mill Pond.
Ted Sands has a degree in history from Yale University, master’s degrees in teaching and business administration, and is a CFA Charterholder. He spent 33 years in the investment business as a securities analyst and a portfolio manager for individuals, charitable organizations, and pensions. A father of 3 daughters,
Ted now resides in northwest Connecticut with his wife, Peggy.

Please join us tonight (7/20) at 7:00 pm in the ai

Please join us tonight (7/20) at 7:00 pm in the air-conditioned Block Island Historical Society.
Dr. Ben Hruska, our Collections Administrator, funded by a generous grant from GRoW @ Annenberg Foundation, will give an in-depth exploration of Block Island in the 1950s & '60s with an emphasis on the artists connected to the island in this period.
We invite those who heard Dr. Hruska's July 11th BIMI talk to join us for his follow-up discussion and enjoy a closer look into these decades. For those who have yet to hear from Ben, this talk will be an excellent and thorough introduction to a pivotal time in Block Island's history given by one of its premier scholars.
This event is FREE and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

Please join us this Thursday night (7/20) at 7:00

Please join us this Thursday night (7/20) at 7:00 pm in the air-conditioned Block Island Historical Society.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Our Annenberg historian and digitization technician, Dr. Ben Hruska, will give an in-depth review of Block Island in the 1950s & '60s.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We invite those who heard Dr. Hruska's July 11th BIMI talk to join us for his follow-up talk and enjoy a closer look into this decade. For those who have yet to hear from Ben, this talk will be an excellent and thorough introduction to a pivotal time in Block Island's history given by one of its premier scholars. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This event is FREE and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

Join us for our next Moonlight Cemetery Tours of t

Join us for our next Moonlight Cemetery Tours of the summer, August 3 and 31, 2023. 🌝🪦
Tickets can be purchased on our website or via the link in our Instagram bio.
#blockisland #visitblockisland #history #historicalsociety

Historical Society Island Tour: the best way to se

Historical Society Island Tour: the best way to see the island! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Every Thursday at 5pm join the Historical Society for a self-guided tour of the museum followed by a narrated historical tour of the island with a local historian. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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$25 - Space is limited - Reserve online ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
https://www.blockislandhistorical.org/events/ - Link in Bio

Please join us this Thursday (7/13) in the West Ga

Please join us this Thursday (7/13) in the West Gallery at 7:00 pm for "Not to be Forgotten: Block Island's Grand Hotels & Humble Lodgings," presented by Historical Society Board Members Shirlyne Gobern and Martha Ball.
This event is FREE and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

Take home the essence of your favorite Island loca

Take home the essence of your favorite Island location!
Our new candles are hand-poured and made in the US with 100% all-natural soy wax and premium fragrance oils. Come in and pick out your favorite scent today!

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