Chief Andrew J. Blackbird House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Chief Andrew J. Blackbird House
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Chief Andrew J Blackbird House (post office section)
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | 368 E. Main St., Harbor Springs, Michigan |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 72000611 |
| Added to NRHP | April 14, 1972 |
The Chief Andrew J. Blackbird House, also known as the Andrew J. Blackbird Museum, is a special building in Harbor Springs, Michigan. You can find it at 368 East Main Street. This house was once the home of Chief Andrew Blackbird and his family. Today, it is a museum filled with interesting items from American Indian history. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 because of its important history.
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Who Was Chief Andrew Blackbird?
Chief Andrew Blackbird was a very important leader of the Odawa (Ottawa) tribe. He was also a historian, meaning he studied and wrote about the past. He worked hard for the rights of Native American people. In 1887, he wrote a book called History of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan.
Andrew Blackbird was born around 1815. As an adult, he held several important jobs for the government. In 1861, he became a US interpreter for the Mackinac Agency. This meant he helped people who spoke different languages understand each other. Later, in 1869, he was made the postmaster of Little Traverse, which is now called Harbor Springs.
The House as a Home and Post Office
Chief Blackbird bought this house for his family around 1858. When he became postmaster, his home also became the town's post office! People in town would come right into the Blackbird family's kitchen to pick up their mail.
As Harbor Springs grew, more people moved there. Some new residents didn't like picking up their mail in a private home. In 1873, they asked for Chief Blackbird to be removed as postmaster. To solve this, Blackbird built a new part onto his house just for the post office. Even with the new addition, he was removed from his postmaster job in 1877. Chief Blackbird continued to live in the house until he passed away in 1908.
From Home to Museum
After Chief Blackbird's death, his wife, Elizabeth, lived in the house until 1920. Their two sons then lived there until the last one passed away in 1947.
In 1947, the house was sold to the Michigan Indian Foundation. They opened it as a local museum in 1948. In 1964, the City of Harbor Springs bought the house. They agreed that it would always be used as a museum about Native American culture. Today, it continues to be a museum where visitors can learn about American Indian artifacts and history.
What Does the House Look Like?
The Chief Andrew Blackbird House is made of two parts that are connected. Both parts are 1 and a half stories tall. They are made of wood and covered with white-painted wooden siding.
The older part of the house, built around 1860, has a porch across the front. When you go through the front door, you enter what was once the kitchen. The newer part, added in the early 1870s, was used as the post office. This section has a taller front above the entrance. You can still see some of the original mailboxes inside this part of the building. Each section of the house has a brick chimney.
