October 25, 2002
Chiefswood National Historic Site
Located at the corner of Highway 54 and Chiefswood Road on the Six Nations Reserve is Chiefswood National Historic Site, well known as the birthplace and childhood home of Mohawk Poetess, E. Pauline Johnson. But much more than that, Chiefswood represented the seat of Mohawk aristocracy and a blending of two cultures. The house was built in 1853 by Pauline's father, Chief George Henry Martin Johnson, a well known and highly regarded Native Politician and Interpreter as a wedding gift for his English bride Miss Emily Howells, niece of the local Reverend.
Married in secret during a time when interracial marriages were shunned, the two settled on the banks of the Grand River in a home designed with two main entrances: one facing the river, which greeted friends and family from the reserve; and the other facing the north to greet non-Native guests. The Johnsons were wonderful hosts and the mansion was known affectionately as "the capital of Upper Indian Canada". The Johnsons hosted visits with the notable of the day, such as Artist Homer Watson, Inventor Alexander Graham Bell, Anthropologist Horatio Hale and Arthur, Duke of Connaught, later to become Prince Arthur.
In this home, the four Johnson children were raised to respect the culture of both their parents. Although Pauline was schooled in the way of the British, she was especially drawn to her grandfather, John Smoke Johnson, who entertained her with magical tales of past adventures. It was this special relationship that inspired Pauline to pursue her writing.
Chiefswood is the only Native mansion surviving pre-confederation. The estate was left to the Six Nations in the 1930's and operated as a museum for a number of years. In 1992, with the house in a deteriorating state of disrepair, the Chiefswood Restoration Committee approached Two Rivers Development Centre, with a plan to restore Chiefswood to what research had shown would be a more authentic interpretation of the home during the 1880's. With the generous assistance provided through this CFDC, the home was finally restored and re-opened in 1997. Today, visitors enjoy a recreation of Chiefswood as it was in the days when Pauline Johnson was a young girl. Much of the interpretation of the home is largely based on the memoirs of Evelyn H.C. Johnson, Pauline's sister, as well as journal entries from Chief George Johnson, detailing his work in the orchards and gardens of the estate.
Today, Two Rivers continues to support the development of Aboriginal Tourism at Six Nations and New Credit through the Six Nations-New Credit Marketing Collective established in 1998. Chiefswood is open for tours from May through to October. For information, call Chiefswood National Historic Site at 519-752- 5444. For information on local events and other tour packages available, call Six Nations Tourism at 1-866-393-3001. To learn more about Two Rivers Development Centre, contact General Manager David Vince at 519-445-4567.