Vintage OMP Quilt, Blacksmithing, Tours Highlight Log Cabin Day 2019 – Photo Gallery

This year’s Log Cabin Day took place on Sunday, June 30, and the annual event celebrated all things related to Old Mission Peninsula history.

The historic Hessler Log Cabin and Mission Point Lighthouse at the end of Center Road/M37 were open for tours, as was the Dougherty House on Mission Road, which recently opened to the public as a museum.

Hosted by the Old Mission Peninsula Historical Society and the Peter Dougherty Society, the event also featured vintage crafts such as chair caning, quilt-making, rug-hooking and more, as well as era-specific music and children’s games.

Old Mission resident Brendan Keenan was also on hand with his blacksmithing display. It’s always fun to see a spoon or other tool being crafted as it was back in the day.

Brendan’s mom is Mary Keenan, who many will recall was a beloved TCAPS art teacher (and my art teacher at Old Mission Peninsula School).

Poet, author and Civil War bard Jim Ribby was also on hand to tell stories about the Civil War and days of yore.

If you haven’t been to the Peter Dougherty Home in a while, check it out at the next available opportunity. As reported previously, the Peter Dougherty Society has spent many years restoring the home and adding furnishings, many of them original artifacts from when Presbyterian missionary Peter Dougherty built the home in 1842.

The Dougherty House, the first frame house built between Mackinac Island and Grand Rapids, also includes a summer kitchen and ice house out back.

The Dougherty House and property recently opened as a museum to the public. Click here if you’d like to volunteer to be a docent. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and learn more about the history of the Old Mission Peninsula.

At the Dougherty House, you can also view a vintage quilt from Connie Sargent’s Gilmore Family archives with squares featuring Old Mission Peninsula families. Look for more about this amazing quilt upcoming in Old Mission Gazette.

Check out a few more photos from Log Cabin Day 2019, and be sure and check out these historic locales throughout the summer. Click here for Dougherty House summer hours.