RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOWS OUT

I'm just back from Canada, and have read some shocking news-- The Rhode Island Historical Society has decided to withdraw from the Heritage Harbor Museum.


For those of you who don't know, the Museum was made up of approximately 20 historical organizations and museums, and the Heritage Harbor Museum was going to be a consortium of them all, that would draw people in one gulp to the museum, so that in one place you could check out the amazing rich diversity of Rhode Island.

The biggest organization of them all was the RI Historical Society. Their former director was the president of Heritage Harbor and the guy most responsible for getting the grants and the donations that allowed Heritage Harbor to move beyond a fantasy.



It's a bit of a shock, because the RI Historical Society probably has the most clout out of all of the consortium organizations. Not to belittle any other organization, but without the library and the holdings of the Historical Society, the HHM loses a significant cache. Hopefully, this hasn't been the death blow for Heritage Harbor, as they have raised 43 of the estimated 59 million they need. The last 16 may prove harder than they expected.