I have visited Petoskey several times in half-century that I have lived in Michigan. I never knew this old mission church and burial ground was near downtown on Little Traverse Bay. A historical marker stands next to the church and reads:
St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission: This land was sold by Amawee, an Odawa, to Jean Baptiste Trotochaud and his Ojibwa wife Sophia Anaquet. Later, they donated nearly an acre of land to the Catholic Church. Jean, under the guidance of Father Sifferath, built this Mission in 1859. In 1860, Bishop Frederic Baraga blessed and dedicated it for use by Natives and settlers. Mass was offered at least four times a year. The mission was restored in 1884, after the arrival of Father Pius Niermann, an Assistant Priest with the Franciscan Fathers. It was abandoned by 1896 and restored again in 1931, 1959 and from 2005 to 2008. The church and burial grounds are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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