Mission School returns to life, thanks to show at revamped museum

CORNWALL — His Cherokee name was Gallegina “Buck†White. But when he came to Cornwall nearly 200 years ago, he took the Christian name of his benefactor, Elias Boudinot.

That is the name still spoken often to this day. It is an important part of the short-lived but fascinating Foreign Mission School.

It was an obvious (and well-received choice) for the first full-blown exhibit at the recently renovated and expanded Cornwall Historical Society museum on Pine Street.

It would seem the much bigger and more open space is still not big enough, judging by the crowd that jammed it June 25 for the opening of “Visions and Contradictions.â€

Visitors can go on any weekend between now and October and enjoy the comprehensive and compelling tale of the school. It was a well-intentioned (though ultimately unsuccesful) experiment in turning “heathens†into missionaries — and the unanticipated and scandalous romantic connections with local young ladies, and the cultural change it wrought, come through in this insightful look back in time.

The society’s new space is used to clever advantage. A soaring wall is covered with a turquoise world map showing where the 70 or so missionary students came from.

In the center of the room that it overlooks, a corner of a model classroom with two original desks was recreated.

Near the entry is an intricate model, built with help from the Cornwall Foundation. It will be used later in school history classes here.

Direct descendants of some of the students even attended the reception, including Nancy and Ridge Brown, descendents of Cherokee student John Ridge; and five members of the Boudinot family, descendants of Ridge’s cousin Elias Boudinot.

Both men married Cornwall women.

It was almost a shock to read Henry Boudinot’s nametag as he walked through the exhibit. For Cornwall residents it seems like a familiar name that only exists in history books.

But Elias Boudinot married Harriet Gold, a member of one of Cornwall’s founding families. Any animosity brought on by that union is also ancient history; Boudinots and Golds mingled amiably at the reception.

Henry Boudinot was quick to point out that the “T†at the end of his name is not silent, though some people pronounce it that way. Elias was his great-great grandfather, he said, and the family genealogy is well-documented.

“Elias often wrote his name with two Ts at the end, so people would pronounce it correctly,†Boudinot said.

Henry Boudinot had traveled here from Petaluma, Calif., timing a visit with his brother, Jim Boudinot, and his family so they could be in Cornwall for the reception, too.

Jim and his wife, Kay, and their children, Casey, 14, and Colter, 10, are on an extended road trip from their South Carolina home.

Henry and Jim’s dad “drilled their Cherokee heritage†into their heads, the men said. And they are intent on passing along their ancestral stories.

“I know some of it,†Colter said. “My dad came into my classroom once to talk about it. One thing I remember is that the Cherokee students were considered lazy because they read books.â€

The exhibit is open Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays and holiday Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m.  Admission is free but donations are welcome.

Events on the theme continue with talks with authors of three books that explore the mission school and its students, as well as a theater workshop for high school students led by members of the Living Theater.

For details visit CornwallHistoricalSociety.org.