Grove Hill New Mission Church, Church building in Omena, Michigan.
Grove Hill New Mission Church is a rectangular building with white clapboard siding and a square steeple located on West Bay Shore Road. A shed-roofed addition extends from the rear, and the structure retains its original 19th-century architectural features.
Reverend Peter Dougherty founded the church in 1858 when he relocated his mission work to Omena and brought together both European settlers and Native Americans. This congregation represented a rare moment of shared worship in a frontier community during the mid-19th century.
The building reflects traditional New England church design through its front gable, triangular pediment, and balanced proportions that show how settlers brought their architectural customs to this Michigan community.
The church operates during the summer season under the name Omena Presbyterian Church, offering regular Sunday services at 5098 North West Bay Shore Road. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, so visitors will see original architectural details carefully maintained.
This building marks one of the few places where a European mission station and the Odawa community actually worshipped together during the 1800s, a partnership often overlooked in regional history. The shared religious life that happened within these walls reflects a less common chapter of frontier Michigan.
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