Misty of Chincoteague

Marguerite Henry, a writer of children's stories, came to Chincoteague in 1946 to see the wild horses she had read about. She met people who had first hand knowledge of the horses and the shipwreck legend they had inherited from their ancestors. Her book, Misty of Chincoteague, was published in 1947 and earned a Newbery Honor for children's literature. In 1960, 20th Century Fox descended on Chincoteague Island and produced a movie called Misty starring Arthur O'Connell as Clarence "Grandpa" Beebe and Anne Seymour as Ida "Grandma" Beebe, portraying two real people, not only familiar with the wild horses on Assateague, but the legend that said they came from a Spanish shipwreck. That shipwreck was  La Galga which drove ashore on Assateague in 1750. The Hidden Galleon describes the heritage of the Beebe family and how they came to know the popular tradition and how the great nephew of Grandpa Beebe helped the author discover the legendary shipwreck.

Misty of Chincoteague in the class room

Misty of Chincoteague has become required reading in many primary schools. The use of Misty of Chincoteague lesson plans encourages young students to read.  

The author of The Hidden Galleon has just published another follow up story to the history of the 1750 fleet. Treasure Island: The Untold Story, documents an account of the Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe which sailed with La Galga. A fabulous treasure was stolen from her at  Ocracoke, North Carolina, and buried in the British Virgin Islands. This dramatic true story is prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.