Honoring Mathilda

Mathilda Allison processing quills, undated.

Mathilda Marie Allison

Mathilda Marie Allison (1927-1990), the eldest of the five children of Isabelle Veronuah King and Carl Wilhelm Ramage, grew up in Middle Village near her maternal grandparents, Tom and Eliza King.

Mathilda moved to California in 1942 and became well known for the artistry of the boxes she made from porcupine quills. Her work was featured in exhibitions throughout the Southwest. In a 1987 video recording, she credits her mother and grandmother for teaching her how to quill during summer visits to the King House. Her friends and relatives in Middle Village would collect quills and send them to her in California.

Mathilda and husband Harold in front of King House window.

Saving the King House

Mathilda restored the family title to the King House in 1978. She then financed a total reconstruction because it was badly in need of repair. Her goal was to return the house to what she remembered as a child. In 2015 the King House Association purchased the house from Mathilda’s son with a promise to preserve it in tribute to her family and Middle Village.

Mathilda Allison quillwork, 1980. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of the interior, Indian Arts and Crafts Board.

1980 Reconstruction

  • After re-establishing family ownership in 1979, Mathilda hired local contractor Bill Glass for $8,000 to repair the house to what she remembered as a child.

  • Bill took the house apart log by log, built a new foundation in the same location, and reconstructed the exterior wall timbers in the same order, replacing the rotten birch timbers with red pine.

  • He also rebuilt the second story joists, floor, gables, and roof, and installed new windows and doors in the original locations.

  • The only features not replaced were the kitchen annex and covered stoop and the narrow interior stairs to the upper level.

1980
Mathilda Marie Allison reestablishes family ownership to the King House

1980
The Odawa restore and caretake their burial grounds at St. Ignatius Church

1980-1994
Waganakising Odawa continue to fight for their treaty rights with large councils held in Cross Village

1994
Federal government reaffirms tribal status of Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

2014
Michigan Historical Commission dedicates a Historic Site Marker at St. Ignatius Church and Cemetery

2015
King House Association is formed and purchases King House from Mathilda’s son Ronald

Did you know…

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