Robert Stuart House
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Robert Stuart House | |
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| Location | Market St., Mackinac Island, Michigan |
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| Coordinates | 45°50′59″N 84°37′7″W / 45.84972°N 84.61861°WCoordinates: 45°50′59″N 84°37′7″W / 45.84972°N 84.61861°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1817 |
| Architectural style | Federal style |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000411[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 16, 1971 |
| Designated MSHS | March 23, 1965[2] |
The Robert Stuart House, also known as the Agent's House or Agency House, is a building located at 34 Market Street on Mackinac Island, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971[1] and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1965.[2]
History
The Robert Stuart House was built in 1817[3] as the "Agent's House," housing the resident agent of the American Fur Company, which was at that time Ramsay Crooks.[4] In addition the building housed other agents and clerks.[2] The Agency House was part of a four-building complex constructed to house the American Fur Company's offices.[2] The other three buildings were a clerk's quarters (now demolished), a warehouse built in 1810 (now the Community Hall), and a trading post (subsequently altered, but later restored).[2][5]
Also in 1817, Robert Stuart arrived on the island as Crooks's assistant. Upon his arrival, Stuart was housed as a guest in the Agent's House.[4] In 1820, Crooks moved on an Stuart was appointed to succeed him as resident agent, a position he held for the next 14 years.[4] Because of Stuart's national prominence and his lengthy association with the Agent's House, the building is nominally referred to as the Robert Stuart House.[2][4]
The 1820s and 1830s were boom years for the American Fur Company's operation on Mackinac Island; in 1822 more than three million dollars of furs were cleared through the Mackinac Island operation.[4] Given his prominence, it was natural that Robert Stuart's house served as the social center of the island during this time.[6] However, the fur trade began to decline in the 1830s, and in 1835 Stuart moved on to Detroit.[4]
As the fur trade declined, Mackinac Island became a resort community. The Robert Stuart House was used as a boardinghouse in the years before and during the Civil War. In 1871, the entire American Fur Company complex was purchased by James F. Cable[2] and the three main buildings - the Agent's House, warehouse, and clerk's quarters[5] - were linked with palisades and turned into the premiere island hotel of the time, the John Jacob Astor House.[4][6] It remained the social center of the island until the construction of the Grand Hotel.[4]
Stuart House City Museum
In 1900, the complex was sold to the city of Mackinac Island.[2] It was operated as a hotel until 1929.[5] In 1941 the building were separated back into individual units.[5] The Robert Stuart House was used as a museum, and is now known as the Stuart House City Museum.
Description
The Robert Stuart House is a two-story, Federal style[3] structure with side gables sitting on a brick foundation.[2] It is built with hand-hewn timber frame[4] and clad with clapboards.[3] The roof is shingled and features gabled dormers.[2]
The front facade has a two-sided stairway leading to a small entry porch.[2] The entrance door is flaked by sidelights[2] and pilasters.[4] The multiple windows have small panes.[4]
References
- 1 2 Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Agency House of the American Fur Company". Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- 1 2 3 Karen Gould (June 2, 2007). "Volunteers Help Staff Stuart House Museum". Mackinac Island Town Crier.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 John Drury (1947). Historic Midwest houses. University of Minnesota Press. pp. 105–107.
- 1 2 3 4 Willis Frederick Dunbar; George S. May (1995). Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 142. ISBN 0802870554.
- 1 2 Eugene T. Petersen (1973). Mackinac Island: its history in pictures. Mackinac Island State Park Commission. pp. 18, 29.
External links
- Stuart House City Museum - City of Mackinac Island Museums
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