"Our Story Begins at Home" was the phrase used on a beautiful framed plaque I recently bought. The simplicity of the statement brought thoughts of a warm hearth, fireside chats with my family and the sounds of love, laughter and happiness.

This simple phrase could be the catch-all phrase for the Morton House Museum. Within its walls, hundreds of stories have begun, and ended, right here over the past 158 years. We are delighted to have you visit the website of the Morton House Museum. Our historic home is the oldest standing home in Benton Harbor, Michigan. It was the home of Eleazar and Josephine S. Morton, descendents of the Plymouth Colony Morton's, and the homestead of Henry Morton, one of three founding fathers of Benton Harbor.

We invite you to visit the Morton Museum and take a step back into the past. There is much to see and enjoy. This is a house where dreams were formed. Where mere thoughts became a reality and drawings became a city. This is a house where lessons can be learned, where dreams never die and where creativity was encouraged.

As the new director of the Morton House, I am so excited at the opportunities ahead of us and the programs we will be unfolding in the near future. We are building on our already stellar educational programs. We will have new programs for the kids in the near future. Our docents are receiving more training so they will be able to reveal more about the Morton family and the period and times they lived in.

And that is not all. We are starting partnership and sponsorship programs with our community leaders. We want to "give back and pay forward." We will soon have online donations, as well as being able to register for membership. And in the next few weeks, we will have an online gift shop, where anyone may purchase our items and books which we sell from the Morton House. I am so pleased to be a part of all of this. Thank you for sharing your time with us. I know you will enjoy our home. There are no strangers here, just good family and friends.

Debra Trapikas
Executive Director