Moses Merill Mission
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| Moses Merrill Mission | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Location: | La Platte, NE |
| Built/Founded: | 1855 |
| Added to NRHP: | 1972 |
| Governing body: | Private |
The Moses Merrill Mission, located near Bellevue, Nebraska, was the first mission built in the present-day state of Nebraska. Built in 1835 by the United States government to Christianize the local Otoe tribe, as of 2005 the only remainders are the original chimney and the cottonwood trees planted by the original missionaries. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[1]
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[edit] History
Reverend Moses Merrill and his wife, Eliza, first came to a trading post called Fontenelle's Post in 1833. Merrill immediately took up studying the Otoe language and later translated parts of the Bible and some hymns into the Otoe language. When the mission was constructed in Otoe tribal country near Zwiebel Creek by the United States government, the Merrills moved there. They quickly established a school and church for the Otoe tribe, whose nearest village and cemetery lay a quarter of a mile directly southeast.
A year after they moved to the site, their first mission building burned down. Soon after Merrill encouraged the Otoe to move from their long-occupied village near Yutan to his mission. They established a school for Otoe children and held church services there. The mission sat eight miles from present-day Bellevue.[2]
Despite challenges converting the Otoe to Christianity, Merrill was largely successful. However, after he died suddenly in 1840 the Otoe moved to a new village.[3] Mrs. Merrill left Nebraska soon after the death of her husband. Settlers used the old mission for many years after the death of Merrill, with church services held there into the 1860s and later. [4]
[edit] Structure
The first mission building was a simply shack made of surrounding woods. The second mission building was built after the first one burnt down in 1836 or 1837. The new facility included a schoolroom for Otoe children and living quarters, including two bedrooms on the second story. A porch ran across the front of the building between the two end rooms and faced south. It is believed that Mrs. Merrill planted at least three of the giant cottonwood trees standing on the site today, ranging from 25 to 30 feet in circumference.[5]
The structure was made from poplar logs, squared and closely notched at the corners. Lime plaster was poured between the log walls and the thin sheathing of planed boards on the interior. A large chimney was built of native limestone was "plastered with lime almost as hard as the stone itself," and was located in the center of the building. It was 25 feet tall with a five foot square base.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ (nd) National Register of Historic Places - Sarpy County, Nebraska. Retrieved 7/13/07.
- ^ Federal Writers' Project Staff (1939) Nebraska: A guide to the Cornhusker state. Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Nebraska. p. 268.
- ^ (2007) "Nebraska National Register Sites in Sarpy County". Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 7/13/07.
- ^ (1927) "Nebraska Oldest Church is Fast Going to Ruin," Omaha World Herald, Magazine Section, 10/16/27.
- ^ Federal Writers' Project Staff (1939) Nebraska: A guide to the Cornhusker state. Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration for the State of Nebraska. p. 269.
- ^ McCoy, K. K. (1922) "Moses Merill Mission." Sarpy County Historical Museum.
