Restoration

King family descendants Rose Silvey (left) and daughters LeAnne and Karyn at the King House, October 2018.

The King House Association

The King House Association (KHA) was organized by interested community members in 2015 to purchase, restore and maintain the mid-19th century King House in Middle Village/Good Hart in tribute to the rich cultural history of this beautiful place.

2018 King House Association Restoration

After the KHA purchased the King House from Mathilda’s son in 2015, historic preservationists developed a restoration plan in keeping with the National Standards for the Preservation of Historic Properties.

Restorer Bob Kenel was hired and began by removing the old chinking and inspecting each timber. Ten of the original birch timbers were too distressed to reuse; three were replaced by red pine as in 1980 and seven by yellow birch contributed by Keith Lamkin.

Using historical pictures for guidance, Bob replaced vertical boards on the end gables with shiplap siding, rebuilt the roof supports, reinforced the first-floor ceiling, covered the ceiling with rough pine paneling, and fabricated and installed historically accurate windows using period glass.

Chinking between the timbers was replaced to match, the doors repaired and rehung, and Cross Village Roofers installed a cedar shingle roof as shown in family pictures.

The total cost of restoration was $85,000, funded entirely by grants and generous donations.

Learn more and browse images of the King House’s restoration here.

1. Petoskey stone quill flattener, age unknown
2. Porcelain doll parts, age unknown
3. Our Mother of Good Counsel Medal, circa 1800s
4. Bullet mold, circa 1900

Archaeology at the King House

Since 2016, volunteers have conducted excavations on the eastern slope of the house lot. Most of the artifacts found are bits of everyday life such as broken glass, nails, rusted metal, pair of glasses, and fractured dinner plates. Some of the unique finds are a 50-caliber musket ball mold, a couple of Catholic medals and a small iron cross which suggests a strong connection to the nearby St. Ignatius church. Volunteers also found a few fur trade artifacts (hand wrought nails and gun flints), historic period ceramics, a clay dog whistle, clay marbles, mammal and fish bone fragments, glass, bone and brass buttons, oil lamp fragments, historic era clay pipe bowl fragments, and glass beads used in Odawa handicraft. Several Norwood chert flakes were found which were the result of pre-contact stone tool manufacture. Surface-collected material included a bark spud and a scythe blade. Further analysis will help us reconstruct the daily life of King House residents and of the community of Middle Village (Ahpitahwaing) in general.

2018
KHA restores core structure of King House

2019
KHA installs a plaque on the King House in honor of Mathilda Allison’s vision and commitment

Did you know…

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