Biddle House/Agatha and Edward Biddle

The Biddle House is one of the oldest structures on Mackinac Island, dating to the 1780s. It is an example of piece sur piece en coulisse construction, a frame structure with log infill fitted into slots. This French Canadian building style was popular in the Great Lakes region in the eighteenth century. The original log structure was later covered with lath and plaster inside and clapboard siding outside. Edward (1782-1859) and Agatha (1797-1873) Biddle acquired the house around 1830. Inside, they raised three children and hosted friends and relatives. After the Biddle family departed in the late nineteenth century, the house fell into disrepair. In 1945 the Mackinac Island State Park Commission acquired the house, and in 1957, extensively restored it to serve as a museum. The commission installed the Mackinac Island Native American Museum in the house in 2020. Agatha and Edward Biddle This house, acquired by Agatha and Edward Biddle about 1830, represents Mackinac’s blend of Euro-American and Indigenous cultures. Agatha, an Anishnaabe woman from southern Michigan, married Edward, a trader from Pennsylvania, in 1819. They combined Agatha’s tribal connections with Edward’s business experience to become accomplished merchants in Mackinac´s fishing and fur trading industries. Edward was also a county sheriff. By the 1860s, Agatha was a chief of the Mackinac Band of Odawa and Ojibway. Most of the members of this unique community were women of Anishnaabek and European heritage. The band had numerous female chiefs. Agatha was known for her generosity to friends and strangers, caring for many in this house.