The Mission Church is a historic

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located at the corner of Huron and Tuscott Streets on

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac an ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, United States. Built in 1829, it was the oldest surviving church in the state of Michigan. In 1971, the Mission Church was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Sainte Anne Church (Mackinac Island) Sainte Anne Church, commonly called 'Ste. Anne Church' or 'Ste. Anne's Church', is a Roman Catholic church that serves the parish of Sainte Anne de Michilimackinac in Mackinac Island, Michigan. The Jesuit missionary Claude Dablon inaugurated t ...

was built before this, as the island had a historic French and

Metis Metis or Métis may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and America whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peoples and early European settlers, prima ...

population before Anglo-American settlement. Its original building was replaced by a new structure in 1874, which is still used.

Description

The Mission Church was constructed in the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

Colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

church style. It is a 1-1/2 story rectangular frame building sitting atop a plastered stone foundation and covered with clapboard siding. The base construction is of heavy timber, and the interior is plastered. The front facade has a double-door center entrance, and boasts a square tower topped with an octagonal belfry. The roof is covered with wooden shingles.

History

French Jesuits established a mission to the

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

in this area in the 17th century. Their church did not have a permanent priest after suppression of the Jesuits in Canada in the late 18th century; the log structure was moved from

Fort Michilimackinac Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th-century French, and later British, fort and trading post at the Straits of Mackinac; it was built on the northern tip of the lower peninsula of the present-day state of Michigan in the United States. Built arou ...

to Mackinac Island about 1780-1781 by British orders. This Sainte Anne Church was used by the French and

residents who were the majority of the permanent population through the early 1800s, most connected to the fur trade.John E. McDowell, “Therese Schindler of Mackinac: Upward Mobility in the Great Lakes Fur Trade”
''Wis. Magazine of Hist.'' (Madison), 61, No. 2 Winter (1977–78): 125–43, , accessed 12 September 2014 The church did not have a permanent priest for some years, but devoted parishioners kept the congregation active.

Magdelaine Laframboise Magdelaine La Framboise (1780–1846), born Marguerite-Magdelaine Marcot,David A. Armour, "MARCOT, MARGUERITE-MAGDELAINE," in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography,'' vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed September 11, 2 ...

, a prominent Métis fur trader, donated land next to her mansion for the church when it needed a new site. In 1874, a new Sainte Anne Church was built there which is still in use.J. E. McDowell, “Madame La Framboise,” ''Mich. Hist.'' (Lansing), 56 (1972): 271–86

Original Protestant mission

The first permanent Christian pastoral presence on Mackinac Island was that of David Bacon, who lived on the island for a short time beginning in 1802. Following the conclusion of the War of 1812, the number of Anglo-American residents on the island and in the region increased. In 1821,

Jedidiah Morse Jedidiah Morse (August 23, 1761June 9, 1826) was a geographer whose textbooks became a staple for students in the United States. He was the father of the telegraphy pioneer and painter Samuel Morse, and his textbooks earned him the sobriquet of "f ...

(the father of

Samuel F. B. Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

) was reputed to have preached on the island on a Sunday; he later advocated for a permanent Protestant mission on the island. In 1823, missionaries

William Montague Ferry William Montague Ferry Sr. (September 8, 1796 – December 30, 1867) was a Presbyterian minister, missionary, and community leader who founded several settlements in Ottawa County, Michigan. He became known as the father of Grand Haven and fathe ...

and his wife Amanda founded a Protestant mission on the southeast corner of Mackinac Island at the location since known as Mission Point. This mission was primarily to educate Indian youth, and enrolled students from all around the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

region.Williams, page 8 In 1825, they built a boardinghouse and school at the site, for some time the schoolroom was also used as a chapel.Williams, page 10 During the winter of 1828-29, the Ferrys' congregation rapidly grew, adding 33 people to total 52 congregants. Soon the churchgoers included Island residents such as

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was founded in 1808, by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant to the United States. During the 18th century, furs had become a major commodity in Europe, and North America became a major supplier. Several British co ...

magnate Robert Stuart, geographer and ethnographer

Henry Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi R ...

, who was married to an English-Ojibwe woman, Jane Johnston Schoolcraft; and carpenter Martin Heydenburk. In 1829-1830 their congregation built this church. Heydenburk and helpers cut and planed lumber on the main shore, transported it to the island, and finished the church over the winter.Williams, page 13 The church was dedicated on March 4, 1831. The congregation eventually grew to number about 80. But changes soon came to the island: the American Fur Company withdrew as the fur trade declined in the 1830s. The tribes which the mission school served were being removed to locations west of the Mississippi River. The mission, and with it the church congregation, declined. The Ferrys left Mackinac Island in 1834, and in 1837, the mission was closed. In 1838 the mission property, including the church, was sold to a private owner.

Later years

The church was used for some years for political meetings and plays, and occasionally for church services. In 1870 it was reroofed and used temporarily by the Catholic Church for services until the current Sainte Anne's was constructed in 1874.Williams, page 19 The building continued to deteriorate. In the late 19th century, the island became used a summer resort destination for people from major cities such as Chicago and later Detroit. The

Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...

was constructed in 1887. The seasonal influx of summer residents soon overwhelmed the space available for the island's small Protestant congregation.Wood, pages 412, 413 In 1894, a group of residents purchased the church for nondenominational services, restored it, and opened it in the summer of 1895. It was used for years for Protestant services, primarily in the summer.Williams, page 20 The

Mackinac Island State Park Commission The Mackinac Island State Park Commission is an appointed board of the State of Michigan that administers state parklands in the Straits of Mackinac area. It performs public activities under the name Mackinac State Historic Parks. Park units incl ...

purchased the building in 1955 and did some renovation. In the 1980s, the church was extensively restored. As of 2012, the church is open to the public daily in the summer, and can be rented for weddings. File:OldMissionChurch1895.jpg, Mission Church, c. 1895 File:Mission Church, Mackinac Island.jpg, Front of church in 1936 File:MissionChurch.png, c. 1900

References

External links