On December 14, Star Island received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to strengthen the care of artifacts in the Celia Thaxter Museum located on Star Island, one of the Isles of Shoals.
This $6,000 grant from the NEH’s Preservation Assistance Grant program will go towards strengthening the facilities and staffing needed to ensure proper care for artifacts in the Celia Thaxter Museum.
The Celia Thaxter Musuem on Star Island currently holds such artifacts as hand painted pottery by poet Celia Thaxter, tool remnants from Native American activity, and hand drawn maps. The museum focuses on three major time periods of the Isles of Shoals: the Gosport Fishing Village, the Grand Hotel Era, and its current use as a religious and educational retreat center.
“Our rich history surrounds everyone visiting Star Island, and we are excited and honored to receive this support from the National Endowment for the Humanities,” said Joe Watts, CEO of the non-profit Star Island Corporation. “These funds will help foster a deeper understanding of our history for visitors.”
“NEH provides support for projects across America that preserve our heritage, promote scholarly discoveries, and make the best of America’s humanities ideas available to all Americans,” said NEH Chairman William D. Adams. “We are proud to announce this latest group of grantees who, through their projects and research, will bring valuable lessons of history and culture to Americans.”
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities by funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities and its grant programs is available at NEH.gov.
Star Island is one of the nine Isles of Shoals located six miles off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. Home to the historic Oceanic Hotel and a fishing village from the 1600’s, a visit to Star Island is a step back in time. The 43 acre island is owned and operated by the nonprofit Star Island Corp. During the summer months, Star Island welcomes families and individuals to explore Star’s rugged beauty for a day or take part in weekly programs with a variety of themes such as spirituality, world affairs, ecology and the arts. Star Island is an all inclusive vacation retreat where guests are encouraged to unplug and connect with each other and nature.