Mission House

In 1823 the Reverend William Ferry founded a mission on Mackinac Island on land now known as Mission Point. Two years later he and his wife, Amanda, erected this building as a boarding school for Indian children. In 1827, 112 students attended the school. The majority of the resident pupils were metis, children of Indian and Euro-American parents. The mission closed in 1837. In 1849 Edward A. Franks opened the Mission House Hotel after adding a third story to the structure. The Franks family operated the hotel until 1939 when it was sold and converted to a rooming house. In 1946 Miles and Margaret Phillimore bought the property, which provided a base for the Moral Re-Armament movement. Around 1971 the Cathedral of Tomorrow purchased the site. Six years later the Mission House became part of the Mackinac Island State Park.