14 July 2024
Saranac Lake, New York
The Stevenson Society of America, which owns and operates the Robert Louis Stevenson Cottage Museum in Saranac Lake, New York, is pleased to announce the formation of a new Board of Directors, marking the beginning of a more active and visible chapter in its history. An open house will be held at the Stevenson Cottage Museum on Wednesday, July 17th at 6:00 p.m. “We invite everyone to come to the open house and enjoy a free tour of the cottage museum, honor its remarkable past, and learn about its needs for the future,” says Trenton B. Olsen, new president of the Stevenson Society of America.
Stevenson, the Scottish author of Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, suffered from pulmonary illness and came to Saranac Lake for its tuberculosis sanatorium. He lived at the cottage for six months in 1887–1888. In this pivotal and productive time, Stevenson wrote some of his best-known essays along with the novel The Master of Ballantrae, which is set partially in the Adirondacks. He also prepared to travel to the South Pacific, ultimately settling in Samoa. The globetrotting author also lived in England, France, Switzerland, California, and Hawaii during his 44 years of life. “More than a travel writer, Stevenson was a travelling writer, and movement was integral to his art,” says board member Carla Manfredi, associate professor of English at the University of Winnipeg and the author of Robert Louis Stevenson's Pacific Impressions: Photography and Travel Writing, 1888-1894. "For anyone travelling in RLS’s footsteps, the Cottage Museum in Saranac Lake is a must.”
The Stevenson Society of America was established on October 30, 1915 when the Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Cottage was opened to the public—the world’s first site dedicated to the author. Charter members included Associated Press founder Charles Palmer, prominent journalist Robert Hobart Davis, and Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who unveiled his bronze relief sculpture of Stevenson, now in the museum’s permanent collection, at the Society’s founding.
While it’s been a long time since the Stevenson Cottage Museum attracted widespread attention, it holds one of the largest and most important collections of Stevenson artifacts in the world from his infant cap to the last pen he ever used. Its extensive collection includes clothing and household items, letters and manuscript pages, original furniture, photographs, art, and books.
Mike Delahant, volunteer resident curator, is the third-generation member of his family to care for the cottage and its collection. “When I took up residence in the Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial Cottage around Labor Day in 1980, I was not planning on spending the rest of my life here,” Delahant reflected, “but here I am.” Delahant’s grandfather John F. Delahant Sr. began serving as resident curator in 1953, after which, his grandmother Maude and his father John “Jack” Delahant Jr. served as curators. What began as Mike Delahant’s temporary assignment to stay at the cottage as a sort of security guard became the work of a lifetime as he has maintained the cottage, curated the display, and given museum tours for nearly 45 years. Through his exposure to the writings and memorabilia at the cottage museum, Delahant confesses, “I, too, seem to have fallen under the Stevenson spell.”
Trenton B. Olsen, an associate professor of English at Brigham Young University-Idaho and editor of The Complete Personal Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson: Expanded Second Edition, first visited the museum in August of 2023. Olsen found that the museum housed an extraordinary collection and was in urgent need of help to preserve its future. “I’ve been to all the major Stevenson museums around the world in California, Scotland, and Samoa. I highly recommend all of them, but this is the most impressive collection of Stevenson artifacts I’ve seen. Saranac Lake has something very special here.”
While Olsen was impressed, he was also worried: “I was very concerned to learn not only that the museum didn’t have the money to complete essential building repairs but that there was no plan in place for what would happen to the museum once Mike could no longer serve as curator. The Delahant family has done remarkable work with very few resources—the museum would not have survived without them, and I look forward to honoring them at our open house.” Olsen began working to help the all-volunteer museum, primarily from his home in Idaho, which led to his new role. “I never expected that I’d be volunteering for a museum across the country, but I’m delighted and honored to be involved,” he said. “As Stevenson wrote, ‘the most beautiful adventures are not those we go to seek.’”
“Our first fundraising need is to replace the roof, repair the chimney, and update the heating and cooling system” Olsen explained, “but we need to make sure these projects are done in a way that preserves the historic nature of the cottage and protects the collection.” With these needs in mind, Olsen and Stevenson Society secretary Timothy Holmes, applied for a Collections Assessment for Preservation Program (CAP) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and recently learned that the Stevenson Cottage Museum will be awarded the $10,000 grant to pay for a preservationist architect and a collection conservator to inspect the museum and provide a prioritized list of expert recommendations. “We’re thrilled and grateful to be awarded the CAP grant from IMLS,” Olsen said, “this will provide valuable direction and help us build momentum for future grant applications. It’s a great public vote of confidence as we get started as a new board of directors.”
Beyond these urgent repairs, Olsen said, the property will need additional renovations and expansion. The museum currently has no public restrooms and is renting portable toilets until they can be built. They also hope to raise money for an auxiliary or adjoining building with space for public events and work areas for interns, volunteers, and visiting writers. “Donors would be hard pressed to find a museum with this combination of literary importance and great need or one where their donations would have more impact.”
As the Stevenson Society of America looks for donors at all levels, it’s already getting the attention of some big literary names. Phillip Lopate, a leading figure in creative nonfiction and former Director of the Nonfiction Graduate Program at Columbia University, recently joined the board. Following his first visit to the Stevenson Cottage Museum, Lopate said, “It’s a wonderful facility, chock to the brim with artifacts and things that are attached to Stevenson, who is one of my favorite writers. I’ve been to a lot of writers’ houses in my life, and this is one of the better ones. You can really get a feeling of what it must have been like for Stevenson. It has a tremendous amount of potential, and I hope it will begin to draw donors, docents, and interns to make it everything it could be.”
One volunteer working to make this happen is Timothy Holmes, a retired research consultant and former membership and development officer at the Wild Center Natural History Museum in Tupper Lake. Shortly after moving to Saranac Lake 35 years ago, Holmes attended a celebration at the Stevenson Cottage, noting, “for me SL and RLS are closely intertwined.” As a volunteer, Holmes has “spent many enjoyable hours helping where I can to keep the museum’s treasures accessible and in good shape for the next generation.” Olsen emphasizes the need for more local volunteers like Holmes: “there are a lot of good projects to choose from, so please reach out if you’d like to get involved and come to the open house to learn more.”
Website: https://www.rlscottagemuseum.org/
Museum Hours: July 1–September 15; closed Mondays.
9:30AM–2:00 PM and 1:00 PM–4:30 PM | closed Mondays
Open by appointment with the Resident Curator throughout the year (518) 891-1462.
44 Stevenson Ln, Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Open House: Wednesday, July 17 at 6:00 PM at the Stevenson Cottage Museum.
Celebrate the cottage museum’s past and learn about its future. Enjoy refreshments and a free tour. New president of the Stevenson Society of America Trenton Olsen will give an address. Signed copies of his book The Complete Personal Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson will be available.
Board Members: Trenton B. Olsen (President), Timothy Holmes (Secretary), Phillip Lopate, Carla Manfredi, Tom Delahant, Dan Reilly, Nicholas Rankin
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