The Mitchell House, on Mackinac Island’s Market Street, was constructed by David and Elizabeth Mitchell. David, a native of Scotland, had served as a surgeon’s mate with the King’s Eighth Regiment at Michilimackinac since 1774. There he met Elizabeth, of French Canadian and Ojibwa ancestory. They were married in 1776 and moved with the rest of the coummunity to Mackinac Island in 1780. In 1783, when the King’s Eighth left Mackinac, David received approval to resign his post and remain with his family.
By 1790 the Mitchells had constructed a large gambrel-roofed house on Market Street. David served for several more years as hospital mate to the British Army at Fort Mackinac, prior to its departure in 1796. He became a successful merchant and also acquired several parcels of land on the island where he raised crops for local sale. The Mitchell’s house was the center of Mackinac society, where the family hosted card parties, dances, dinners and tea parties. The Mitchells maintained a large library and sent their sons to Montreal and daughters to Europe for their educations.
David maintained his British citizenship and at the dawn of the War of 1812 enlisted in the British army, moving to Fort St. Joseph. He participated in the capture of Fort Mackinac in July 1812. Elizabeth encouraged her kinsmen to fight for the British. After the return of the island to the United States, David moved to Drummond Island, securing a post as assistant surgeon in the British Indian Department. 
Elizabeth stayed on Mackinac Island to manage the family’s farm and businesses. Tensions between Elizabeth and U.S. officials caused her to flee to Drummond Island in 1815. She eventually returned, spending most of her time on Mackinac, while David remained on Drummond. Her son William remained with her, becoming an American citizen while three other sons resided with David on Drummond. Elizabeth visited David occasionally. On one such visit in 1827 she became ill and died. Her body was returned to Mackinac Island for burial. A year later David moved with the British garrison to Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay. He died in 1832.
By the late Victorian period the Mitchell’s home had become a historic curiosity and was featured in souvenir stereoview cards as the “oldest house on the island.” Vacant by 1890, it was destroyed between 1895 and 1900. A dance hall, later known as Dewey Hall, occupied the site from the early 1900s to the middle twentieth century. The site is now the vacant lot next to Cindy’s Riding Stable.
