A long-time volunteer to the Great Gull Island Project, Dale Dancis, has created a record of this remarkable effort.
Helen Hays granted her access to decades of historic documents and photographs stored at the Great Gull Island Project office at the American Museum of Natural History. She also received hundreds of photographs from many of the staff, students and volunteers. This generous support allowed her to create three books.
These books cover the history of the island from when it was first purchased from the local indigenous tribe in 1659 and then by the U.S. Government in 1803 for an auxiliary property to the lighthouse on Little Gull Island. Then, in 1897, the U.S. Military acquired it to build a fort to guard the entrance to Long Island Sound. In 1949, Great Gull Island was purchased by the American Museum of Natural History and given to the Linnean Society of New York to manage. More than 70 years later, the books look back and celebrate the history of the Great Gull Island Project as we know it today.
For more information about her project, you can read Dale Dancis’ letter to the Great Gull Island Project community.
You can read the three books online, by clicking on the links below:
Book 1: 1659-1963
The Early Years
ISBN: 979-8-9887266-3-0
Book 2: 1963 – Present
The Glory Years
ISBN: 979-8-9887266-4-7
