The history of this house near the tip of the Old Mission Peninsula begins with Peter Dougherty, a Presbyterian missionary who arrived in the Grand Traverse Bay area in 1838 to establish a mission for the Ojibwe and Odawa tribes. After initially settling in Elk Rapids, he relocated here at the request of Chief Ahgosa and proceeded to sketch some of the region’s first maps in 1839-1840. Following his marriage to Maria Higgins, Dougherty and local Native Americans constructed this residence, the Dougherty Mission House, in 1842. Beyond providing religious sermons and caring for the sick, Dougherty significantly contributed by translating biblical lessons and scripture into the Anishinaabemowin language, which he published in the mid-1840s. The structure was later renamed the “Old Mission House” in 1852 when the Dougherty family moved to establish a new mission in Omena.
The property entered its next phase in 1861 when it was purchased by Solon Rushmore, who used profits from local fruit crops to remodel parts of the building. Following Solon’s death in 1870, his cousin Duranty Rushmore acquired the estate. Capitalizing on the growing resort industry driven by improved transportation, Duranty began welcoming tourists in 1876, establishing the site as the Rushmore House, an inn that could host up to thirty guests. After Duranty passed away in 1894, his son William and daughter-in-law Minnie continued operating the inn until William’s death in 1916. The house remained in private hands until 1961 when Virginia Larson purchased it from the Rushmore family. In 2006, local citizens bought the property and gifted it to Peninsula Township, leading to its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
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