Old Mission in Grand Traverse County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Dougherty Mission House
⎯⎯⎯
Rushmore House and Inn

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, September 26, 2020

1. Dougherty Mission House / Rushmore House and Inn Marker

Inscription.
Dougherty Mission House Peter Dougherty arrived on Mackinac Island in 1838, planning to establish a Presbyterian mission to the Ojibwe and Odawa tribes in northern Michigan. He selected the Grand Traverse Bay area and settled in Elk Rapids. Soon after he relocated to this area at the request of Chief Ohgosa. Dougherty sketched some of the region's first maps in 1839-40. After his 1840 marriage to Maria Higgins, he and local Native Americans built this residence in 1842. In addition to delivering sermons and caring for the sick, Dougherty translated biblical lessons and scriptures into the Native American language Anishaabemowin, publishing them in 1844 and 1847. The house became known as the "Old Mission House" when the Dougherty family opened a new mission in Onema in 1852.

Rushmore House and Inn Solon Rushmore bought the Dougherty Mission House in 1861. Using profits from fruit crops, he remodeled parts of the building. After Solon's death in 1870, his cousin Duranty Rushmore purchased the property. The region's new resort industry, spurred by ship and rail transportation, led him to begin welcoming tourists

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

into his home in 1876. Known as the Rushmore House, the inn could accommodate as many as thirty people. After Duranty died in 1894, his son William and daughter-in-law Minnie operated the inn until William's 1916 death. Virginia Larson bought the property from the Rushmore family in 1961. In 2006 local citizens purchased the house and gifted it to Peninsula Township. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Erected 2016 by Michigan Historical Commission Michigan Historical. (Marker Number S0739.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1838.

Location. 44° 57.423′ N, 85° 29.417′ W. Marker is in Old Mission, Michigan, in Grand Traverse County. It is on Old Mission Road south of Dougherty Lane, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 18459 Mission Rd, Old Mission MI 49673, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, September 26, 2020

2. Dougherty Mission House / Rushmore House and Inn Marker

this marker is in Northern Michigan Lower Peninsula

and in the Grand Traverse Bay Region.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Old Mission House (here, next to this marker); The Old Mission Church (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Peninsula Township War Memorial (approx. 2.3 miles away); Hesler Log House (approx. 2.4 miles away); The Hessler Log Home (approx. 2.4 miles away); A Light at Old Mission (approx. 2.4 miles away); Restoration of the West-Side Entrance (approx. 2.4 miles away); James M. Olson (approx. 2.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Old Mission.

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, September 26, 2020

3. Dougherty Mission House / Rushmore House and Inn Marker

Dougherty Mission House / Rushmore House and Inn image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, September 26, 2020

4. Dougherty Mission House / Rushmore House and Inn

Credits. This page was last revised on March 10, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 8, 2021, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 880 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 8, 2021, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.

Dougherty Mission House⎯⎯⎯Rushmore House and Inn

Dougherty Mission House
⎯⎯⎯
Rushmore House and Inn