The Mission House
Stockbridge, MA
Journey back in time at this Colonial-era house and museum, a National Historic Landmark that tells the story of the Stockbridge Mohicans and John Sergeant, first missionary to the Mohican Indians. It not only provides a glimpse into Colonial history, but also the Native American tribe that lived here.
In the mid-1730s, the Mohicans living in western Massachusetts gave permission for a young minister to live among them. The Reverend John Sergeant lived in a simple cabin until he married Abigail Williams in 1739 and built the Mission House around 1742.
Originally located on Prospect Hill in Stockbridge, this National Historic Landmark was carefully disassembled, moved, and restored between 1926 and 1930 by Miss Mabel Choate (then owner of nearby Naumkeag, which is now also a Trustees property) at its present location on Main Street. From 1928 to 1933, noted landscape architect Fletcher Steele designed the Colonial Revival garden, which features a colonial-style dooryard garden of circular brick paths enclosed by a cypress fence. A kitchen garden divided by crushed stone walkways contains 100 herbs, perennials, and annuals that had culinary or medicinal value to early colonists. A replica of an old cobbler shop serves as the entrance to the property.
The Mission House showcases an outstanding collection of 18th-century American furniture and decorative arts. A grape arbor in the Well Courtyard behind the Mission House leads to a small Native American museum that tells the story of the Mohicans through artifacts gathered by Mabel Choate in the early 1930s, as well as stories and anecdotes from Mohicans today. The Mission House is owned and managed by The Trustees of Reservations.
The grounds are open year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset; the house is open seasonally for tours and for groups by advance reservation. Allow a minimum of half an hour for the Indian Museum and Gardens, plus 45 more minutes for the house tour, and 60 more minutes if you’d like to explore the Quest along Main Street.