Thanksgiving: SHHS & Sag Harbor awarded grants to save Jail Museum!

SHHS Trustee Jean Held and Co-President Jack Youngs just received a $25,000 grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to restore the Old Jail Museum owned by the village of Sag Harbor and operated by the Historical Society.

This year, the mold damage inside, combined with water damage at the outer door, made it unsafe for SHHS to open the Old Jail Museum for Harborfest and some of the other traditional fall openings.

A matching grant of $25,000 was awarded to the Village of Sag Harbor by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation with the intention that this money would also go towards repairing and restoring the Old Jail Museum. Sag Harbor Village's grant writer, Nicole Christian, not only coordinated the applications for the grant, but she was fundamental in helping to identify a path forward to address this need.

The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation has a 90 million dollar trust, and they give away 6 million dollars each year. The foundation, established in 1987, is named in honor of Robert David Lion Gardiner, the 16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner's Island, and a resident of East Hampton Town, who had a strong passion for New York history. More information about the Robert D. L. Gardiner Foundation can be found on their website: http://rdlgfoundation.org/

Co-president Jack Youngs writes, "The grant is to be used to fix the Jail both inside and out...the timetable for completion is July of 2017..." The Sag Harbor Historical Society is deeply grateful for the efforts of the Sag Harbor Village grant writer Nicole Christian, and we are overwhelmed with thanks and gratitude for the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation's generosity.

We would like to express our thanks to the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation and to Nicole Christian and the Village of Sag Harbor! We look forward to re-opening the repaired jail!