Mission Church (Michigan) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Mission Church
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Front of the church in 2011
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | Huron St. at Truscott St., Mackinac Island, Michigan |
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| Built | 1829–1830 |
| Built by | Martin Heydenburk |
| Architectural style | Colonial, New England Colonial |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000409 |
| Added to NRHP | January 25, 1971 |
The Mission Church is a very old church building. It is located on Mackinac Island in Michigan, United States. This church was built in 1829. It was the oldest church still standing in Michigan for a long time. In 1971, the Mission Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes important historical places in the United States.
Before the Mission Church, there was another church on the island. It was called Sainte Anne Church (Mackinac Island). This was because many French and Metis people lived on the island first. The original Sainte Anne Church was replaced in 1874. That newer building is still used today.
Contents
What Does Mission Church Look Like?
The Mission Church was built in a style called New England Colonial. It is a rectangular building with one and a half stories. The outside is covered with wooden siding. It sits on a stone foundation.
The front of the church has two doors in the middle. Above the entrance, there is a square tower. This tower has an eight-sided belfry on top. A belfry is where a church bell would be. The roof of the church is covered with wooden shingles.
How Did Mission Church Start?
French Jesuits were priests who started a mission in this area. This was in the 1600s, for the Ottawa people. Their first church was a log building. It was moved to Mackinac Island around 1780. This happened because the British ordered it.
This church was the Sainte Anne Church. It was used by French and Metis people. They were most of the island's population in the early 1800s. Many of them worked in the fur trade. Even without a full-time priest, the church members kept their faith strong.
A famous Metis fur trader, Magdelaine Laframboise, helped the church. She gave land next to her home for a new church building. In 1874, a new Sainte Anne Church was built there. It is still used today.
The First Protestant Mission
The first Protestant pastor on Mackinac Island was David Bacon. He lived there for a short time starting in 1802. After the War of 1812, more American settlers came to the island.
In 1823, a missionary named William Montague Ferry and his wife, Amanda, started a Protestant mission. It was on the southeast side of Mackinac Island. This area is now called Mission Point. The main goal of this mission was to teach Native American children. Students came from all over the Great Lakes region.
In 1825, the Ferrys built a boarding school. For a while, the schoolroom was also used as a church. In the winter of 1828-1829, their church group grew quickly. It went from 19 people to 52. Soon, important island residents joined. These included Robert Stuart from the American Fur Company. Also, Henry Schoolcraft, a writer and explorer, joined. His wife, Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, was English and Ojibwe.
A carpenter named Martin Heydenburk also joined. In 1829-1830, this group built the Mission Church. Heydenburk and his helpers cut wood on the mainland. They brought it to the island and finished the church in the winter. The church officially opened on March 4, 1831.
The church group grew to about 80 people. But things changed on the island. The fur trade slowed down in the 1830s. The Native American tribes that the school served were moved to lands west of the Mississippi River. Because of this, the mission and the church group became smaller.
The Ferrys left Mackinac Island in 1834. In 1837, the mission closed down. The next year, the church and other mission buildings were sold to a private owner.
What Happened to the Church Later?
For some years, the church building was used for different things. People held political meetings and plays there. Sometimes, church services were still held. In 1870, the roof was fixed. The Catholic Church used it for a short time. This was until their new Sainte Anne's was built in 1874. After that, the Mission Church building continued to get old and worn out.
In the late 1800s, Mackinac Island became a popular summer vacation spot. People from big cities like Chicago came to visit. The famous Grand Hotel was built in 1887. The many summer visitors soon needed more space for Protestant church services.
In 1894, a group of residents bought the church. They wanted to use it for services that were open to all Protestant groups. They fixed it up, and it opened again in the summer of 1895.
The church was used for Protestant services for many years, mostly in the summer. The Mackinac Island State Park Commission bought the building in 1955. They did some repairs. In the 1980s, the church was fully restored. Today, the church is open to visitors every day in the summer. People can also rent it for weddings.
Images for kids
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Mission Church, around 1895
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Front of church in 1936
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Around 1900
See also
- Oldest churches in the United States
