Carey Mission facts for kids
The Carey Mission was a special school and community. It was started by a Baptist missionary named Isaac McCoy. He built it for the Potawatomi tribe of American Indians. The mission opened in December 1822. It was located on the St. Joseph River near Niles, Michigan, in the United States.
The mission was named after William Carey. He was a famous English Baptist missionary. Because the Carey Mission was official and well-known, it became an important place. It was a central spot for new settlers moving into the American frontier.
Contents
History of the Carey Mission
Starting the Mission School
Lewis Cass was the second governor of the Michigan Territory. On August 29, 1821, he signed the Treaty of Chicago. This agreement was made with the leaders of the Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi tribes.
The Potawatomi agreed to give up land to the United States. This land was west and north of the St. Joseph River. In return, the United States agreed to pay for a blacksmith and a teacher. They would live on "one mile square on the south side of the St. Joseph." This area was a special part of land the Potawatomi had kept for their villages.
Isaac McCoy had asked Governor Cass for money to help Indian missions. He was able to get the job as the teacher for this new mission.
Building the Mission Community
In December 1822, Isaac McCoy, his family, and 32 Potawatomi people traveled to Michigan. They moved from near Fort Wayne, Indiana. They settled about a mile west of where the city of Niles is today. By the next year, they had built six mission houses.
The first school at Carey Mission opened on January 27, 1823. It started with 30 Potawatomi students. A group that visited the mission in June 1823 reported on the school. They said it had "from forty to sixty children." About 15 of these students were girls. The students were either Native American children or mixed-race children. The mission hoped to have 100 students soon.
Growth and Decline of the Mission
By 1824, an agent for Governor Cass visited the mission. He reported that Carey Mission was "a colony firmly settled, numerous, civilized and happy." The workers had cleared and fenced 50 acres of thick forest. They grew a lot of corn, oats, and potatoes. By 1826, over 200 acres of land had been cleared. About 58 acres were planted with crops.
The mission became a stopping point for white settlers moving into the Michigan Territory. Isaac McCoy realized that these settlers would soon take over the land. He wrote that when they first started, the mission was far from white settlements. He hoped they could help the Native Americans become more "civilized" before more settlers arrived.
Between 1827 and 1829, many white settlers moved into southwestern Michigan. The Carey Mission began to struggle. This was partly because of the U.S. government's policy of Indian removal. This policy aimed to move Native American tribes from their lands.
In 1827, the Treaty of St. Joseph was signed. In this treaty, the Potawatomi tribe gave up some of their reserved lands in Michigan. The treaty said its goal was to move some Potawatomi groups. They would go to a place away from the road from Detroit to Chicago. This new place would be as far as possible from white settlements.
In 1829, McCoy moved to another mission he had started. It was called the Thomas station, near the Grand River. Only one missionary, Robert Simerwell, stayed at Carey. After the Indian Removal Act was passed in 1830, the school at Carey Mission closed. In 1831, McCoy led many Potawatomi people to a new mission in Kansas.
Why the Carey Mission Was Important
A Pioneer Step for Settlement
The start of the Carey Mission was a very important event. According to Michigan judge Nathaniel Bacon, it was "the pioneer step in the way of settlement." This means it was the first big step for settlers moving into the area.
In 1822, when the mission began, European settlers thought the region was dangerous. Not long before, there had been battles like the Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana. There was also the Battle of Fort Dearborn in Illinois. Because of these events, many people were afraid to move there.
Judge Bacon explained that people had mostly stopped moving into the area. Few dared to go beyond the older settlements. But then, McCoy bravely went into the heart of Native American land. He started his mission school among the Potawatomi on the St. Joseph River. News of his courage spread quickly. People in Indiana and Ohio soon heard about it. Adventurers then began to follow the missionary's example.
Notable Students
Several important people who attended the Carey Mission school became leaders. One example is John Tecumseh Jones. He became a leader in the American West.
