A History of the Morton House Museum

Eleazer Morton and his wife, Joanna, came to St. Joseph in 1835, the same year the Territorial Road from Detroit opened and stagecoaches were beginning torun on a regular basis. Morton had been working his way west and was looking for a port for an idea he had to produce sugar from potatoes. But when they purchased land, they choose 500 acres of farmland on the other side of the St. Joseph River.

The next year they had built a log cabin about where City Park on Main Street is now. In 1849 they moved into a much larger farmhouse situated right on Territorial Road, high a top a hill. Eleazer's son Henry and his wife, Josephine, moved in with them. They cleared the land and planted crops. They planted the third peach orchard in the county. The Morton's extended hospitality to travelers along the Road, for they still had a day's journey just to get to St. Joseph due to the low-lying areas near the river were too marshy to travel. Everyone was welcomed, new settlers and natives. The new village began to grow.

Henry Morton would work with other early pioneers, Sterne Brunson and Charles Hull to create the place that was originally called "Brunson Harbor." In 1862 the three men spearheaded the effort to get a canal built so ships could come directly to into the little village. Docks and factories were built, and the fruit shipping business steadily increased from there. In 1866 the village was incorporated as "Benton Harbor" to honor the Missouri Senator who fought for liberal land policies, Thomas Hart Benton.

If you visit the Morton House, the pioneer bedroom and the spinning alcove give a sense of these early pioneer years. They contain some of the oldest artifacts in the museum. As the village began to grow, so did the Morton House. The Empire Bedroom and the Seamstress's Room attest to a love of fine things even in the little frontier town.

By the dawn of the 20^th Century, one hundred years ago, Benton Harbor was a bustling town. Tourists flock to the beaches, hotels, restaurants and entertainment hot spots. Business was booming at the Livery and other businesses along Territorial Road and Main Street.

The Morton House on the hill still stood and Mr. Morton still lived there, but it was a new generation of Mortons that people tipped their hats to. James Stanley Morton had been born in the house in 1850, and was the only child of Henry and Josephine Morton who would survive to adulthood. Know as "Stanley" Morton, he wrote the book Reminiscences of the Lower St. Joseph River Valley about his parents' and grandparents' generation. He had grown up along with the little harbor on the north side of the St. Joseph River. Stanley Morton was also a leader in Benton Harbor, working in various businesses, helping development of the schools and parks, and serving on the Cemetery Board. But, he is remembered mostly for his steamship business. When he was 30 years old he helped to form the Graham and Morton Transportation Company and eventually became its president. This company operated a number of big boats between here and Chicago and other Lake Michigan ports. If you visit the house, you will see the portrait of one of these ships, the Lora, hanging over the sofa in the parlor along with other artifacts from the shipping business. The steamships sailed out of Benton Harbor laden with fruit, and returned with boatloads full of tourists seeking the fresh air and charm that even then was "Pure Michigan."

In 1912, Stanley and his wife Carrie Heath Morton added the big front porch to the house put in electric lights and made other changes in the house. The birds-eye maple in the front hall and staircase and the Pullman window in the parlor are examples of materials that the Morton used in their house that were also being used in the elegant steamships. If you visit the house you will see the tiled bathroom and a dining room set up to reflect this more modern era.

Stanley would survive his wife and four children. He left his to the Federation of Woman's Clubs to be preserved in memory of the community's pioneers, and to be named after his mother, Josephine Morton. The Morton House museum embraces its mission as the Home of Benton Harbor History. Touring the house takes about an hour and tours are available every Sunday from May through September between the hours of 1 - 5 PM. Other tour times are available upon request. If you love old house, have nostalgic memories of the Benton Harbor of yesteryear, or want to teach your children about life in the olden days, you will want to take a tour of this lovely and unique museum.