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M I McCreight Summer Home


Guest madre

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Guest madre

Nobody is living there.  There are houses nearby and I doublt much property goes with the house anymore as the neighborhood has grown.  Foxfan...do you know anything about who built the stone house in front on Lincoln Drive?

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Has anyone ever met Mr. M.I. McCreight?    Any recollections?

Yes..I met him when I was a kid in the neighborhood ....At that time he was just another interesting person, although I knew that he had connections to personalties of American history, I didn't attach any significant meaning to that fact. I was in my early teens, and Major was someone who would talk to the "kids' who stopped by when he was out and about. I remember him as a very old man, who liked to tell kids stories. I wish I could remember them, but I can't... as I look back...I think Mrs. Mc Creight was alive, then, but I don't remember seeing her. I often wondered where their final resting place is....
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Nobody is living there.  There are houses nearby and I doublt much property goes with the house anymore as the neighborhood has grown.  Foxfan...do you know anything about who built the stone house in front on Lincoln Drive?

Is this the stone house near to the school bus bldg.?  How far back of the stone house would the WigWam be?

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Is this the stone house near to the school bus bldg.?  How far back of the stone house would the WigWam be?

No, I don't know who built the stone house, I know who lived there, but I will not invade their privacy. The Wigwam is at the top of the hill, to the right of Lincoln Drive. It is privately owned, so I will not reveal that either...

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Major Israel McCreight with his son and friends.  Mr. McCreight was known for his great relationship with Native Americans.  In the mid-1880's he spent time in the West where he made many lifelong connections.  Many of his Native American friends visited his Sandy Township home, "Wigwam."  Joe Bluehorse, a world champion rider, lived for three years in a tepee at the Wigwam Estate.  

major_israel_mccreight_and_friends_7340.jpg

wigwam_9791.jpg

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I just read the whole online bio of M I McCreight and it says he is buried at Morningside. The wigwam was a very important place in our history here and it really needs to be preserved if at all possible. For all this man did for this town its a shame there is not more to commemorate him.

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"Buffalo Bill in Du Bois"

M.I.McCreight's 1908 Rambler, showing Buffalo Bill, Chief Iron Tail, Driver Don McCreight, Monroe McCanles standing, and young boy Jack or Jim McCreight.  Monroe McCanles was explaining to Buffalo Bill how Wild Bill Hickok (Duck Bill) had murdered his father Dave McCanles in 1861.  This photo was taken in the afternoon of June 22, 1908, in front of the McCreight Home, 42 East Long Avenue in Du Bois, PA, shortly after McCreight had been adopted into the Sioux Tribe.

buffalo_bill_cody_in_du_bois_5569.jpg

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this is so interesting,    i would love to see more pictures.

thank you for posting the ones you found.

does anyone have the plans for the house?

it would be nice to build on like that.

(if i had the money of course)

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M.I. McCreight Wigwam Collection

Photo of the Arnold M. Chernoff Display of Native Americans taken in 1968.  In a radio interview recorded in 1948, Mr. McCreight then 83, described how he acquired many of the prominent items in his collection.  He kept these artifacts secured at Wigwam until his death in 1958, after which his widow Alice B. McCreight (nee Humphrey) disposed of a sizable portion to Messrs. Bernie Braverman, a noted dealer in antique arms, and Ted Cole, a frontier trapper and personal friend of Mr. McCreight.  The collection was considered to be the best documented Native American collection at the time.  Mr. Braverman sold a substantial portion of the collection to Arnold Chernoff, a firearms dealer and Indian artifact collector in 1959, and a second commensurate portion which Mr. Braverman had acquired from the widow of Ted Cole to Mr. Chernoff in 1968.  After his 1968 purchase, Mr. Chernoff displayed both halfs of the collection on numerous occasions in his traveling exhibits.  Mr. Chernoff dispersed a large portion of the McCreight collection to museums and private collectors in the 70's and 80's.

mccreight_wigwam_collection_6774.jpg

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"The Wigwam"--Home of Major Israel McCreight---According to the Clearfield Co. PA. Comprehensive Plan: History, Resource and Preservation Plan (2006), "The Wigwam", home of the colorful M.I.McCreight, is at risk and in need of preservation. The "Wigwam" is located on a high knoll in Sandy Township at the crossroads of an old Native American trail. M.I. McCreight's Native American History and Artifacts Collection are National Treasures. The "Wigwam" deserves preservation. Restoring "Wigwam" as a PA Wilds Native American History and Education Center would be a wonderful asset for residents and visitors.

wigwam_then_and_now_7700.jpg

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Don't believe it is the same house. The house that is there now is a small house that was used in the 70's by Roy Hunter and his First Baptist church as the Sunday School. I think many local residents have been in that house and from what I remember the staircase is on the other side of the wall. Being in there many years ago I don't remember the high ceilings and large nice woodwork that it should have to be from that era. If you look at that house and the house on the lower side (the McCabe house) you can see that the current house at 42 looks much newer.  

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Guest madre

Are you confusing the pics with the Long Ave home?  The pics are of the summer home outside of town.  

 

I bet if you got a group together with some good contractors, that summer home could be saved.  I'm no contractor, but I have done some major renovations in my time and I'm not afraid of hard work.  I have a couple of teenagers that would be willing to help as well.  But, I'm not one of those "movers and shakers" that can get the permission and funds...

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