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Mission House (Stockbridge, Massachusetts)
Encyclopedia
The Mission House is an historic house
located at 19 Main Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
and used as a Native American mission
in the 18th century. It is a National Historic Landmark
owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations.
The house was built near its current location in 1739 by Reverend John Sergeant, a graduate of Yale University
, who had established a mission for the local Mohican
s. Jonathan Edwards, a notable Christian
minister during the Great Awakening
, succeeded Sergeant as a missionary. The Mission House was improved in the 1760s with an elaborate front doorway, still extant. The Sergeant family inhabited the house until 1867. It subsequently fell into disrepair, but in 1926-1927 was restored and moved to its present location. Its gardens were created between 1928-1933 by noted landscape architect Fletcher Steele
.
Today the house contains an excellent collection of eighteenth-century American furniture and decorative arts.
Historic house
A historic house can be a stately home, the birthplace of a famous person, or a house with an interesting history or architecture.- Background :...
located at 19 Main Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
and used as a Native American mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
in the 18th century. It is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations.
The house was built near its current location in 1739 by Reverend John Sergeant, a graduate of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, who had established a mission for the local Mohican
Mahican
The Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...
s. Jonathan Edwards, a notable Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
minister during the Great Awakening
Great Awakening
The term Great Awakening is used to refer to a period of religious revival in American religious history. Historians and theologians identify three or four waves of increased religious enthusiasm occurring between the early 18th century and the late 19th century...
, succeeded Sergeant as a missionary. The Mission House was improved in the 1760s with an elaborate front doorway, still extant. The Sergeant family inhabited the house until 1867. It subsequently fell into disrepair, but in 1926-1927 was restored and moved to its present location. Its gardens were created between 1928-1933 by noted landscape architect Fletcher Steele
Fletcher Steele
Fletcher Steele was an American landscape architect credited with designing and creating over 700 gardens from 1915 to the time of his death....
.
Today the house contains an excellent collection of eighteenth-century American furniture and decorative arts.