A fire in 2019 destroyed the barn on the Beebe Ranch.
Each year, fans of Marguerite Henry’s book “Misty of Chincoteague” flock to the islands of Chincoteague and Assateague in Virginia, and many make their way to the iconic Beebe Ranch to see where Misty of Chincoteague once lived.
In 2023, the Beebe family found they needed to sell the ranch. While they had an offer from a developer, no one in the family wanted that. That’s when Billy Beebe spoke to Cindy Faith, executive director of The Museum of Chincoteague Island. The museum had been conducting tours at the ranch for some time. Could they raise funds to purchase the ranch?
Many thought raising that much money was a bridge too far, but they underestimated the dedication and love Misty had inspired across the country. What a surprise it was when the museum raised the full asking price of $625,000, with settlement on June 30, 2024.
For Billy Beebe, this was a dream come true. After the sale, he continued to work with the museum on fundraising, maintenance, continued tours and future plans. One of his goals was to see the museum rebuild the barn which had been lost to fire in 2019.
Then, without warning Billy was diagnosed with leukemia. On May 24, 2024, after a six-week battle, he passed away at the age of 70.
Bonnie spoke of Billy’s dream for the barn.
“He was hoping they would try to get it as close to what the original was. But he understood they needed extra space for classrooms, and storage. It wasn’t your typical big, tall barn with a hay loft,” she said of the old barn. “It always reminded me of a low-slung shed with a low roof, almost like a long run-in, or the long front porch on an old house with all the windows.”
They’d been away in North Carolina when the barn caught on fire. Bonnie recalled how Denise Bowden from the fire company had called them at 11:40 p.m. that night.
“She was the first one on the scene. Before the trucks even got there, she had the water hose out soaking the ground around the house to protect it,” Bonnie shared. “After the barn burned, we didn’t know what to do about the tours. The barn was a huge part of our tour. We’d had display cases in there, and the historic stalls, and we played a movie in there for visitors. But then we decided, even if the barn was gone, its history was still here. Now, by rebuilding the barn, we will be picking up where history left off. We are looking forward to the future of the Beebe Ranch.”
Cindy said for at least two years before he passed, she and Billy had talked about how great it would be to rebuild the barn.
“In the process of talking and dreaming about it, we thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have it look like the original barn from the front. I knew we would need to start on house renovations first and I didn’t want to start another fundraiser right on the heels of the first one,” she said. “The first phase of renovation was going to be $88,000, but we did get a $50,000 grant toward that.”
Offers to help came quickly.
“Arne Breland, of Breland and Son construction company on the island, got the quotes and contracts for the repairs. He did quite a few things on the exterior that I didn’t even ask for, just because he saw the need, and he didn’t charge us for those things. Like, under the house, he realized the steps were vulnerable because the slabs were not supported. He fixed that and didn’t charge us. Then, in phase two, I mentioned we wanted a handicap accessible bathroom. I was away for two weeks and when I came back, he had torn down a wall, extended the bathroom and made it completely handicapped accessible with no charge.” She hesitated. “If you look for the good people in this world you will find them.”
While the new barn will not be exactly the same, it will be an homage to the original barn. Cindy shared how the museum hopes to add storage space, with room in the center to park the bus they use for their Road Scholar program tours.
“Mostly, it has to be a nice home for the ponies,” she said. “We hope to have classes in the barn, too, and a pavilion.”
According to Cindy, a lot of thought has gone into how renovations will affect the ponies on the property. They want to do what is best for them as well.
“We’d promised Billy we would keep the ponies on the property, so they’d be there for visitors to enjoy,” Cindy said of Billy’s three Chincoteague Ponies.
Of the three ponies, Angel and Drizzle are Misty descendants. Pearl is an island born pony out of Black Pearl.
“Since Billy passed, his next-door neighbor, Mike has been taking care of them, day in and day out with no pay, but they don’t get a whole lot of daily attention,” Cindy said. “Then, Billy’s sister Barbaras’s son, Jeff Massey reached out to Bonnie with a plan for the ponies for the winter. He offered to bring the ponies to his farm in Greenbackville, Virginia for the winter. It’s something he will do every year. With him, they’ll get one-on-one attention every day throughout the winter. He’s even volunteered to take care of their medical expenses and get them socialized with other ponies. This is another huge gift.”
The museum is applying for a grant to help pay for the barn, but even if they do receive the grant, it will not cover the full cost. They are hoping Misty fans will pitch in again.
“Billy and his friends had been working on a redesign of the corral area, with two square [pasture] areas for the ponies and a walkway between that leads toward the barn,” Cindy revealed. “That side will look like the old barn, but it will be wider and large enough to accommodate what we need.”
Special fundraising events to help with expenses included a fall wine tasting at the museum, a talk on Chincoteague Ponies by pony tracker, Darcy Cole, and a September 21 dinner cruise with Daisey’s Island Cruises with stops at a series of island restaurants providing dinner. In addition, student Abby Mast made a horse-themed quilt as part of her Target 4-H Club’s Diamond Clover project which she donated to the museum. In a drawing last month, she drew the winner - a Chincoteague Pony lover from California. That raffle raised $2,500 for the Beebe Ranch.
Then, there was the shingle fundraiser.
“The cedar shingles on the Beebe house had been painted. Many were damaged and some had mold or were decomposing,” Cindy shared. “Billy had suggested we not throw away the good cedar shingles.”
Bonnie remembered how it unfolded.
“Billy came in the house one day and said, ‘That dumpster is filled up with shingles from the house.’ He said, ‘I am going to call Suzanne. We need to get them out of the dumpster,’ Bonnie recalled.”
He was talking about Suzanne Cox, owner of the Beach and Bead shop on the island.
“She had done these ornaments the year before that were sort of laser cut. She had some of Misty, some of Paul and Maureen, and Grandpa Beebe. Being Miss Rule-Follower here, I said, ‘Billy, that’s not your trash. You should call Cindy at the museum to ask if you can get in there.’ Of course, she said yes.”
Cindy said Billy and Suzanne climbed into the dumpster to save those shingles. And after Billy passed, Suzanne turned them into unique works of art.
“We worked on quotes to make a variety of images and then put them online for auction,” Cindy said. “We paid her a small amount of money for her help, because she spent hours on it. I would say Suzanne spent hundreds of hours working on these shingles. That is not an exaggeration.”
The shingles fundraiser brought in about $8,000.
According to Cindy, people continue to come forward to offer help in various areas of expertise, including architects and draftsman who have offered their time to design the new barn.
Museum personnel are painstakingly going through items in the attic of the house and finding unique items, including letters from children written to Misty, letters to Paul and Maureen Beebe, and even letters from author, Marguerite Henry to the Beebe family.
Meanwhile, tours continue at the ranch. Billy had always been there for the tours. Now, Bonnie said their daughter Rebecca helps, along with 13-year-old grandson, Lucas. And Bonnie helps, too.
“In January, we will be announcing another fundraiser with a partner people may know,” Cindy added, excitement tinging her voice. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but it is another reminder of the love for Misty and the Beebe family that people have, and a reminder that this legacy will continue on.”
An outreach for donations continues, not only for the barn, but for ongoing upkeep of the property and care of the Chincoteague Ponies housed there.
“Since Billy passed, we have been on a mission to have this barn rebuilt,” Cindy said. “I think he is looking down and watching over us.”
Bonnie agreed.
“Even though it will not replace the old barn, it will be a nod to Misty and to the Beebe Ranch,” Bonnie said. “We are looking toward what the future holds.”
Donations can be made by mail to: PO Box 352, Chincoteague, VA, 23336, from their website at chincoteaguemuseum.com, or by phone at 757-336-6117. To specify donations for the barn, write in the memo section online or note when donating by phone or mail.