Once the land for the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park was leased from the state, Seabee veterans, reserves and volunteers worked diligently to clear the acreage and the Park began to take shape. The initial funding in 2002 was a $329,000 Department of Defense Grant for Navy Reserve personnel training.

The money was used for the location, disassembly and the on-site re-assembly of “Quonset Huts,” Here is a photo (left) of the erection of one of the first huts. In the foreground is James Monroe, one of the original driving forces behind the Seabee Museum and memorial Park and President of the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park.

 The round top buildings have been closely associated with the Seabees since WWII. The Quonset Hut was originally designed and manufactured in Davisville.

2007 PROJECTS: A gate into the park property was constructed at the access road and an all-weather 15-foot lighted informational kiosk was installed at the visitor entrance. A memorial marker was dedicated to CD3 Earl Glasscock of USN MCB-6. The interior of hut 6 was completed,

Seabee Bob Schwab and JC Welding constructed a new model Seabee, approximately five feet high, over the winter (2006/07) out of steel. Quonset Auto Body and Seabee Volunteers painted the replica. Sign-A-Rama of North Kingston donated signage for the Bee. The Museum intends to use the new Bee in parades and in community outreach. Stop by and see him. Read more about it HERE.

2007 PROJECTS: The huge gate Bee that has become a Rhode Island landmark was last repainted in 1999/2000. We moved the large Bee to a West Davisville warehouse in the late fall and have begun to repair and repaint the statue.

One of our major project is restoration of the interior of the Seabee-built Chapel in the Pines. The basic structure is sound, however the concrete slab roof has developed leaks.

Thanks to a generous grant, we had the roof repaired and resealed in April. In May the exterior walls were repainted. The interior needs to be painted, new flooring installed, and the replacement pews restored and installed.

The Seabee Museum and Memorial Park was able to save some very large paintings from the old base, including a collage of Seabees that decorated the mess hall. Due to their size, we plan to hang them in the restored Chapel. 

GATEWAY PROJECT
The biggest news affecting the Museum in 2007 was the state approval of the mixed-use Gateway Project. When completed in 2009, the Museum will be surrounded by a multi-million dollar retail and office park. Plans call for two "big box stores, a hotel, a number of smaller stores and restaurants, a sports complex and several office buildings.

To prepare for our "new neighbors" the Museum announced in December a two year, $250 thousand museum building fund campaign. A Museum building can serve as the home of one of the premier historic military sites in Rhode Island, a place to demonstrate and preserve the "Can Do" spirit and to recognize the past, present and future contributions of the US Navy Seabees.

The Museum Building Fund was supported in February 2008, by New Boston, the developer of the Gateway Project. New Boston has generously offered to match the first $50,000 raised. In addition, New Boston will be contributing $20,000 in landscaping and other improvements to the park.

The matching grant was announced in the rotunda of the Rhode Island state capital. During the press conference hosted by Rep. Larry Ehrhardt, (R) North Kingstown, Jerry Pucillo, a senior vice president of New Boston Fund Inc., said: "When we first started working on this project with the Quonset Development Corporation, we were struck by the dedication, honor and commitment of the Seabee organization. We are proud to support and incorporate what we call the heroic engineers into the Gateway project."

FUTURE PLANS…
Our future plans include erection of an "Honors Wall," additional Battalion memorials on the walking trails, restoration of vintage Seabee and construction equipment, expansion of the equipment and memorabilia displays, and the creation of a Seabee "Historical Timeline."

Sixty-five years ago Davisville Rhode Island became the Original Home of the Seabees. We need your help and support to preserve the rich Seabee heritage that started in Rhode Island and is now known worldwide.

To find out more about helping the original home of the Seabees -- the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park --
see our Donations page.