Rehoboth Beach Historical Society Inc

What Rehoboth Beach Historical Society Inc does

Rehoboth Beach Historical Society Inc is a Delaware nonprofit founded in 1976 that operates the Rehoboth Beach Museum at 511 Rehoboth Avenue and the historic Anna Hazzard Tent House at 17 Christian Street. The organization preserves and exhibits the heritage of Rehoboth Beach's coastal community, covering Native American origins, Methodist Camp Meeting legacy, African American, Greek, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ history, supported by a permanent collection of 8,900+ artifacts, photographs, postcards, documents, maps, oral histories, and newspapers. The collection is partially digitized and publicly accessible via an online catalog portal at rehobothbeachmuseum.catalogaccess.com, while in-person research is available by appointment using Google Calendar scheduling.

Core products and services include rotating and permanent exhibitions (e.g., Paul Lovett's "Golden Age of Rehoboth" diorama, "Metal & Memory," "Celebrating African American Rehoboth"), guided and self-guided walking/bike tours, lectures, workshops, day trips, children's programming, an annual photography contest, and a needlework exhibition. Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of individual donations processed via Zeffy, annual and monthly memberships, paid event tickets, facility rentals for weddings and meetings, a Square-powered gift shop, and grants from institutional funders including the Delaware Division of the Arts, DE250, the Carl M. Freeman Foundation, and individual major gifts. Distribution occurs physically at the museum (seasonal hours, Memorial Day through October 30 plus limited winter hours) and digitally through a newsletter, Instagram presence, and embedded ArcGIS StoryMaps tours.

Operations are run by a small staff — Executive Director Heidi Nasstrom Evans, Assistant Director Madeline Golden, and Operations Manager Jill Sterner — under a Board of Directors. The organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025–2026, anchored by the 21st Annual Beach Ball fundraiser and a slate of new exhibitions covering LGBTQ+ history, early Delaware maps, and the 14th Annual Needlework Exhibition.

Name

Rehoboth Beach Historical Society Inc

Legal name

Rehoboth Beach Historical Society Inc

Website

https://rehobothbeachmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Rehoboth Beach Historical Society Inc operates the Rehoboth Beach Museum and Anna Hazzard Tent House in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, preserving 8,900+ artifacts and serving visitors, researchers, and the local community through exhibitions, tours, educational programs, and venue rentals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

History Museum

NAICS

Museums (712110), Historical Sites (71212)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

History Museums (THAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN)

Keywords

• Historical museum exhibitions
• Community heritage preservation
• Guided historical walking tours
• Museum educational programs
• Cultural venue rental services

Headquarters

HQ city

Rehoboth Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the museum's mission of preserving Rehoboth Beach history
2. Memberships: Annual and monthly membership options supporting the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society and its programming
3. Fundraising Events: Beach Ball annual gala is the largest annual fundraiser generating vital operating funds. Additional fundraising through Acoustic Jam and other events.
4. Event Tickets and Tours: Revenue from paid walking tours ($10), workshops ($55), lectures ($15), day trips ($75), and Acoustic Jam event ($25)
5. Facility Rentals: Rental of museum spaces including lecture hall and entire building for weddings, receptions, meetings, and celebrations
6. Gift Shop: Sales through gift shop accessible via Square e-commerce site
7. Grant Funding: Grant support from Delaware Division of the Arts, DE250, and Carl M. Freeman Foundation for specific exhibitions and programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Rehoboth Beach Historical Society operates the Rehoboth Beach Museum, which preserves and exhibits the history of Rehoboth Beach's diverse coastal community through permanent and rotating exhibitions, on-site and online collections, and Paul Lovett's 'Golden Age of Rehoboth' diorama. The society offers educational programs such as guided and self-guided historical walking tours, children's programs, workshops, and lectures, and also runs fundraising events (Beach Ball gala, Acoustic Jam), community celebrations (Juneteenth), and rentals of the historic museum facility and the Anna Hazzard Tent House site.

Product overview

Rehoboth Beach Historical Society Inc operates the Rehoboth Beach Museum as a community museum focused on preserving and celebrating the history of Rehoboth Beach's diverse community. The museum maintains a core product portfolio consisting of rotating and permanent exhibitions (including 'Metal & Memory,' 'Celebrating African American Rehoboth,' and photography/needlework contests), collections and archives available for research, and educational programs including walking tours, children's programming, and workshops. Additional services include event venue rental, membership programs, donations, and a gift shop. The museum's digital presence integrates with third-party platforms including Zeffy for donations/ticketing, Square for e-commerce, Google Calendar/Forms for scheduling, and ArcGIS StoryMaps for self-guided walking tours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rehoboth Beach Museum The primary museum facility offering rotating and permanent exhibitions, educational programs, and community events. Features Paul Lovett's 'Golden Age of Rehoboth' diorama and collections documenting coastal community heritage including Native American, Methodist, African American, Greek, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ history. Open seasonally with admission by donation.
• Collections & Archives Digitized historical materials including photographs, postcards, archives, and artifacts documenting Rehoboth Beach history. The online collections portal is publicly accessible; in-person research is available by appointment.
• Collections Research Services Personalized research assistance for historians, genealogists, and researchers. Visits by appointment only (scheduled via Google Calendar), with access to photographs, documents, maps, oral histories, newspapers, and artifacts.
• Reproductions & Image Requests High-quality digital scans and prints of photographs, documents, and archival materials for media, publications, academic research, and personal projects, per the museum's published Reproduction Policy and Rates.
• Event Venue Rental Historic venue rental for weddings, receptions, organizational meetings, and social parties. Options include full building rental or individual spaces such as the lecture hall and upper gallery.
• Boardwalk Walking Tour Guided 90-minute walking tour of the Ocean Block/Boardwalk area highlighting history, landmarks, and historical photographs; topics include Native peoples, Methodist Camp Meetings, fires, WWII, shipwrecks, and storms. Priced at $10 per person with parking passes provided.
• Historic Rehoboth Beach Bike Tour Guided two-hour bicycle tour led by Patricia and Roger Truitt covering over a century of Rehoboth Beach history. Explores Grove Park, Epworth Cemetery, RAL Homestead, the Boardwalk, and concludes at the Anna Hazzard Tent House.
• Spunky Women Walking Tour Walking tour highlighting women of Rehoboth who contributed to making the town 'a more pleasant place,' covering the founding of the Rehoboth Art League, Library, Mosquito Matron, children's fishing pier, and stories of entrepreneurs and suffragettes.
• Self-Guided Walking Tours Interactive self-guided walking tours accessible via ArcGIS StoryMaps, including the Historic Rehoboth Beach tour and Rehoboth Avenue Historic tour with multimedia historical content.
• Under the Sea: Story & Art Free children's program for ages 4+ exploring marine life including jellyfish, hermit crabs, and horseshoe crabs through stories and art, held weekly during summer months.
• Metal & Memory Workshop Hands-on metalworking workshop led by artist Heidi Lowe in conjunction with the 'Metal & Memory' exhibition. Participants create kinetic sculpture pendants inspired by the exhibition; no experience necessary, all materials provided, capacity 15.
• Queering Delaware History Lecture Lecture presented by Carolanne Deal covering LGBTQ+ Delaware history from the colonial era to the present, contributing to the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs' LGBTQ+ History digital project.
• Beach Ball Gala Annual fundraiser celebrating the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society's anniversary. Features gourmet dinner, live music, dancing, and live/silent auctions with sponsorship tiers (Wave, Boardwalk, Surf & Sand, Sun & Fun).
• Acoustic Jam 2026 Re-creation of the Acoustic Jam Night held at The Front Page Restaurant & Bar from 1984-1993. Fundraiser ($25/person, capacity 50) featuring local musicians performing for the community.
• Day Trip to Hillwood Estate Day trip to Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens in Washington, D.C., the house museum founded by Marjorie Merriweather Post featuring Russian imperial art and French decorative arts. Includes transportation.
• Juneteenth Celebration Annual celebration of Juneteenth at the West Rehoboth Legacy Mural, including writing workshops and community programming, co-hosted with the Developing Artist Collaboration.
• Anna Hazzard House Open Open house events at the historic Anna Hazzard Tent House at 17 Christian Street, exploring early Rehoboth history and Anna Hazzard, Rehoboth's Renaissance woman; open Tuesdays during summer.
• Membership Program Annual and monthly membership options to support the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society's programming and well-preserved collections, ensuring community heritage continues to be preserved.
• Donations Tax-deductible donation program supporting museum operations, preservation, and educational programming; accepts online donations via Zeffy and mailed checks.
• Gift Shop Museum gift shop operated via Square e-commerce platform, offering memorabilia and educational items related to Rehoboth Beach heritage.

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Developing Artist Collaboration (DAC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership for Juneteenth Celebration featuring writing workshop with author Alexs Pate. DAC and RBHS jointly host the event with support from Carl M. Freeman Foundation.
• CAMP RehobothcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership in celebration of CAMP Rehoboth's 35th anniversary with themed exhibit Built By Community: LGBTQ+ History in Rehoboth. CAMP founded by Steve Elkins and Murray Archibald in 1991.
• Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Program partnered with state division's LGBTQ+ History of Delaware digital project. Carolanne Deal contributed research to the digital project 'LGBTQ+ History of Delaware: We Have Always Been Here'.
• Accent on TravelminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Local travel agency partnering for Discover the World of Vikings Cruises event at the museum. Wendy Prater, Director of Business Development at Viking Cruises, presents. Contact: Amanda at 302-703-0126.
• Delaware Beach CollectionminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Donated auction items for Beach Ball including luxury suite stay with five course wine dinner and two bedroom condo with bourbon dinner for the 21st Annual Beach Ball fundraiser.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Delaware Art Museum: Wilmington-based art museum with rotating exhibitions, educational programs, and membership model. Comparable as a Delaware cultural institution blending exhibitions, programs, and donations, though its art focus is broader than Rehoboth Beach's local history orientation.
• Rehoboth Art League: Rehoboth Beach-based arts organization offering exhibitions, workshops, and classes in the same community. Comparable as a heritage/cultural organization targeting the same Rehoboth Beach resident and visitor audience, with overlapping programming such as workshops and needlework exhibitions.

Direct peers

• Fenwick Island History Museum: Small community historical society in Fenwick Island, Delaware, preserving local coastal history with a small museum, exhibits, and volunteer-driven operations. Highly comparable in scale, mission, and operating model.
• Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum: Small seasonal heritage museum in Ocean City, Maryland, focused on local coastal and maritime history. Operates with a small staff, seasonal hours, and a similar mix of exhibits, donations, and programming — a structural and operational peer for a coastal community museum.
• Cape May MAC (Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities): Non-profit operating historic house tours, walking tours, and museums in Cape May, New Jersey — a fellow Mid-Atlantic coastal heritage destination. Strong functional overlap with Rehoboth Beach Museum's tour, lecture, and programming model at slightly larger scale.
• Lewes Historical Society: Operates multiple historic house museums and walking tours in nearby Lewes, Delaware, with a similar small non-profit model, volunteer-driven tours, and membership programs. The closest operational peer given shared Delaware coastal community, comparable scale, and overlapping heritage tourism audience.
• Zwaanendael Museum: Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs-operated museum in Lewes presenting regional colonial and maritime history. Comparable as a small Delaware heritage museum with free admission, temporary exhibitions, and educational programming targeting tourists and local residents.

Broad incumbents

• Delaware History Museum: Wilmington-based museum operated by the Delaware Historical Society, covering statewide history with exhibits, research library, and membership programs. Comparable as a state-focused historical museum with comparable revenue streams (donations, memberships, programs), but broader geographically and larger.
• Hagley Museum and Library: Larger Delaware history institution on the Brandywine featuring the DuPont family estate, industrial heritage, and educational programs. Comparable as a Delaware heritage museum with admissions, exhibitions, and educational programming, but at significantly larger scale and broader institutional scope.
• Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library: Major Delaware museum focused on American decorative arts with a research library and seasonal programming. Comparable as a Delaware heritage and educational institution, but at significantly larger scale and national scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rehoboth-beach-historical-soc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rehoboth Beach Historical Society Inc