Stuart House Museum Adds Historic Letter to Collection

This story first appeared in the August 18, 2023, Mackinac Island Town Crier print edition

A few months ago, Stuart House City Museum docent John Huibregtse was perusing eBay, the popular buy-and-sell web-based marketplace when he came across a listing featuring the John Jacob Astor House (a former name for the building that now houses the museum) that immediately caught his attention.

He took a closer look and discovered that it was a letter, likely either a receipt or a request for a bank draft for $25. It is signed W.S. Robinson (the cursive is hard to read), and addressed to a James Cable, who they know was a proprietor of the John Jacob Astor House, a prominent Island structure at one time. It is dated 1879, just four years after Mackinac Island became a national park. Mr. Huibregtse thought about making an offer on the listing, but his wife encouraged him to snatch it up and not let it get away. He showed a picture of it to Mayor Margaret Doud, who similarly told Mr. Huibregtse he should grab it. He did, and with some help got it framed.

Things change slowly at the Stuart House City Museum, Mr. Huibregtse said. But it’s always exciting when something new makes its way to the museum. The letter is now on display, under a large photograph of the house, on the right wall just as guests enter the museum. Some things that stand out to Mr. Huibregtse about the letter is the large John Jacob Astor House heading, matching the large sign on the building as displayed in the photo above it. It also includes the Island’s status as a national park in a smaller header. Finds like this don’t come along too often, he said, and he knows others are interested in it as well as he watches visitors lean over to examine the letter after they walk in.

“Once in a while, things kinda come to us,” Mr. Huibregtse said. “I know it’s a small item. But when you can find something that’s 144 years old, a piece of paper and in good condition, you better just grab it if you can.”

The Stuart House City Museum is owned by the City of Mackinac Island, staffed by volunteers, and accepts admission by donation. The museum features the history of the fur trade, fishing, and indigenous history on the Island, and offers visitors a peek into the way of life on Mackinac Island as it was many years ago. The building was the original headquarters of John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Trading Company, home to many offices, and later the Stuart family and the John Jacob Astor House Hotel. It also connects to the greater history of the Island, including Fort Mackinac, Mr. Huibregtse said. Each visitor who stops in is interested in different things, but there is a little something for everyone. And in a testament to the city’s great care of the building, it is still standing straight and strong. The building is 206 years old this year.

“Some fellows just like (visiting) old buildings,” Mr. Huibregtse said.

Last year was a record year for donations, Mr. Huibregtse said, and he estimates that they are already ahead of where they were this time last season. There seems to be a constant influx of people on Market Street where the museum stands next to the Community Hall, so they have been getting plenty of visitors.

“Long story short, here it is,” Mr. Huibregtse said of the museum’s new addition. “A neat little piece of Mackinac history brought to life.”