Life History Project

The Chincoteague Island Life History Project is collaborative effort undertaken by the Museum of Chincoteague Island and the Chincoteague Island Library. The aims of this project are to preserve the voices and stories of the people of Chincoteague Island. By asking island residents to share the stories of their lives, the project hopes to create an archive that provides deep insight into the culture, heritage, and history of this fascinating barrier island community.

We hope that future generations of scholars, visitors, and especially Chincoteaguers will benefit from hearing and re-telling the stories contained here. From early "Pony Penning" to hunting in the marshes, from making dumplings to wading for clams on a summer afternoon, the personal tales described here are valuable and—in many cases--entertaining.

The Chincoteague Island Library began this project in 2004 as an oral history initiative, led by the late Margot Hunt. These recordings and some transcripts of the interviews are available on all of the Library's public use computers, or you may follow this link to listen to the oral history recordings or read the transcripts here on our website. The Museum has joined the Library in 2014, and together these two organizations are working to film each interview.

If you would like to view the video interviews, follow this link to the Museum of Chincoteague web featuring the interview videos: http://www.chincoteaguemuseum.com/life-history

If you are interested in local island history, would like to be trained to conduct interviews, or if you know of someone who should be interviewed, please contact The Chincoteague Island Library at (757) 336-3460 and leave your name and phone number with the volunteer on duty.