LEWES HISTORY MUSEUMCAMPAIGN LEADERS Elizabeth Owen, ChairWade & Danielle Thompson, Co-ChairsHazel Brittingham, Honorary ChairStuart BrahsRichard ClaypooleJanet DavisMeghan LeeJack LesherDon MatzkinWilliam SharkeyWilliam A. Thomas, Jr., M.D.Lucius Webb

LEWES HISTORICAL SOCIETYBOARD OF TRUSTEES Donald Matzkin, PresidentElizabeth Owen, Vice PresidentJack Lesher, TreasurerThomas E. Brown, Ph.D.Bernard J. Clark, MD.Richard ClaypooleStan DivorskiLinda DyllaWesley PerkinsHarold W. T. Purnell, II, Esq.Bonnie Taylor

Michael DiPaolo, Executive Director,Lewes Historical Society

THE LEWES HISTORY MUSEUM ATTHE MARGARET H. ROLLINSCOMMUNITY CENTERc/o Lewes Historical Society

110 Shipcarpenter St. | Lewes, DE 19958

“We will finally have 385 years of Lewes History under one roof,” said Mike DiPaolo, executive director of the Society. “It’s been a long wait,but well worth it.”

For the 140 people who attended a campaign kick-off for the new Lewes History Museum in late September, the transformation ofthe former library building was remarkable.

With shelving, books and computers removed, the building suddenly resembles – a museum!

“The high ceilings, large open rooms and generous window space are ideal for museum use and visitor flow,” said John Lester, who designed the building expansion in 1999.

Upstairs, visitors to the kick-off could envision the installation of museum-quality archival storage units where the Society’s invaluable historic documents and artifacts willbe kept in an environmentally controlled space.

The former children’s area at the Library will become an interactive museum and learning wing for youth at the new Museum. The Delaware Room will continue as an attractive research room, with quick access to the Museum’s unique collection, gathered over 54 years by the Lewes Historical Society.

All items are now catalogued on the Society’s web site, which will soon reference their collection storage units at the museum, for fast, efficient retrieval.

100,000historic photographic images

10,000historic objects

250,000pages of documents

4,000volumes of local history

THE LEWES HISTORY MUSEUM WILL HOUSE...

Thank You for Supporting our Campaign!

LEWES TURNS OUT FOR

NEW HISTORY MUSEUM

AUTUMN 2016

STANGO PARK

CONCERT STAGE

CHILDREN’SGARDEN

NEW PARK LAND

TRAILHEADAMENITIES

HISTORY MUSEUM REINFORCES LEWES’ NEW CULTURAL CAMPUS

The Margaret H. Rollins Community Center & Lewes History Museum is the latest addition to an emerging 10-acre cultural and recreational campus at the southern entrance to Lewes.

Services and amenities of the campus include the new Lewes Public Library, a children’s garden, two parks, a trailhead for hiking and biking, and an outdoor summer concert stage.

The campus is expected to provide attractive venues for a variety of events and activities, including the Lewes History Book Festival planned for fall, 2017.

“High quality design, technology and interactive displays will bring to Lewes the look and feel of the most modern of American museums.”

- Richard Claypoole, former Director Presidential Libraries & Museums of the National Archives

NEXT STEPS

In order for the Community Center and Museum to open with new exhibits by next summer, a number of important steps must be taken, Matzkin said.

First, needed repairs and improvements to the building include upgraded air conditioning and fire suppression; improved restrooms and a reconfigured lobby area; conversion of offices to a Rotating Exhibit Area; creation of space for staffing, and new carpets, flooring and painting throughout.

Next, museum-specific storage units must be ordered and put in place, and computer technology installed throughout the building to access the collection, plus other informative web sites.

While all this occurs, work is underway to create the narratives, then design and fabricate the various exhibits that will help tell the story of Lewes and its families across the generations. Some of the first exhibits will include:Lewes’s Maritime HistoryLewes History ThroughDecorative ArtsOur Earliest Residents

In several instances, including the new children’s wing, local committees will be providing input for exhibit content and design.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Museum is a cooperative effort by the City of Lewes, the Lewes Historical Society and the Ma-Ran Foundation, led by Margaret and Randall Rollins, who made a generous lead gift of $500,000 to the Museum project.

In recognition of their leadership, the City, which owns the building, has named this new facility “The Margaret H. Rollins Community Center.”

In May, 2016, Lewes City Council voted to give the Lewes Historical Society a long-term lease of the former Library over competing requests from several for-profit organizations.

“We are pleased that re-purposing this valuable building as a Community Center and Museum will provide many long-term benefits for residents and visitors alike,” said Lewes Mayor Ted Becker.

Thanks to the availability of an existing building, the costs to reconfigure it as a Museum are less than a third of the cost to construct a new facility, noted Don Matzkin, chair of the Lewes Historical Society, which will manage the Museum.

Ongoing operating costs for the Museum will also be relatively low, Matzkin said, since most staff positions at the new facility will be filled by existing personnel of the Society.

Original Life Saving Station Building,c.1916

Port of Lewes Customs Seal, c.1890

PROJECT COST & SOURCES OF FUNDINGThe Museum campaign, which kicked-off September 29, is seekingsupport from the following sources through 2017.

Foundations $ 1,350,000Individual Major Donors $ 550,000Physician Exhibit $ 75,000Children’s Wing $ 100,000African American Exhibit $ 50,000Mid-Level Donors $ 75,000Business Gifts $ 50,000Events, appeal $ 25,000 Total: $ 2,275,000

This cost of bringing the History Museum to Lewes is approximatelyone-third the expense of purchasing land and constructing a new facility.

To date, $600,000 has been donated, leaving just $1,675,000 more to raise.

To arrange a tour or discuss a gift to the new Museum, please call302-644-0107.

A WING FOR COMMUNITY USE

A separate wing of the facility is dedicated for use as a Community Center, including local non-profit organizations that plan to hold regular meetings and other activities there.

Exhibit and information space is also being provided in a separate resource area, so visitors can learn and find their way to other Lewes attractions such as the Lightship Overfalls, Fort Miles and deVries Monument.

NAMING OPPORTUNITIESAvailable areas for naming at the Museum offer local families a unique opportunity to demonstrate their important roles in forming the historyof Lewes, DE. Each of the six major areas listed below will includea panel detailing the donor-family’s background and contributions.

Main Exhibit Gallery $ 375,000Children’s Wing $ 250,000Rotating Exhibits Gallery $ 175,000Lewes Research Room $ 150,000Museum Collection Area $ 150,000Museum Lobby Area $ 100,000

The Museum reception area and professional staff offices ($50,000 each) are also available, as are museum collection stacks and table/chair seating areas ($10,000 each). For more information, please call 302-644-0107.