Rev. Peter Dougherty, Presbyterian missionary, was busy saving souls back in 1842 when he built a house on Old Mission Peninsula. 

He would no doubt be surprised -- nearly 175 years later – to see archaeologists digging up the ground near the original outhouse.

Archeology professor Kerri Finlayson, several of her students at North Central Michigan College in Petoskey and local volunteers have been working methodically in and around the house and its 15 acres of grounds in Peninsula Township since last week. So far they’ve discovered numerous small items used by the Doughertys in daily life.

The dig is just one part of a plan to unearth and preserve the history of the Dougherty Historic Home Site, which is thought to be the oldest settled home in Northern Michigan. Any artifacts found will represent a direct link to historically important information about life for those early settlers.

“They worked out a grid, then scraped down a layer at a time,” says volunteer Marty Klein of the dig. “They’ve found small bottles, pottery pieces and a couple of metal pieces.”

It is not the first archeological dig at the site. Dougherty and his family lived on the site from 1842 until 1852, then resettled across the bay in Omena. A previous dig focused on artifacts associated with a period starting in 1870 when the Dougherty house began serving as the Rushmore Inn. The property remained in the Rushmore family for approximately 100 years. That search turned up similar items.

Much has already been accomplished to save the buildings and to make the grounds visitor-friendly by adding heirloom gardens and walkways. The latest project – rebuilding the combination carriage house and summer kitchen – is nearly complete. The next big step is to build a strong foundation under the house.

“It will be a modern concrete block foundation with old stone façade. So what you see will look very authentic,” says Klein, who in his professional life is a structural engineer.

In 2013, the Jeffris Family Foundation in Janesville, Wisc., approved a $154,000 matching grant, which gave the effort a significant boost. But those grant dollars also present a big challenge: To get the money, the Peter Dougherty Society must raise two dollars for every Jeffris dollar – more than $300,000 -- by the end of the calendar year.

So far, the non-profit group has raised about $130,000, though several other pledges are on the way.

“Part of the $175,000 has been raised already through numerous pledges that will come in during the next few years,” Klein says.
Support so far has come from personal donations and contributions by groups including the Biederman Foundation, Rotary Charities, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Oleson Foundation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church Endowment, Acentek Communications and Old Mission Historical Society.

Get a glimpse of the progress at the Dougherty House during Log Cabin Day on Sunday, June 28 from 11am-4pm. Though the house will be raised from its foundation and unavailable for tours, the restored summer kitchen, ice house, restored outhouse, and grounds will be open. There is no charge, though an ice cream social will be held and the proceeds will be used to restore the foundation and for further work on the site.