Mitchell garrison
The Mitchell garrison was a two-story building in North Yarmouth, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Built in 1728 on lot 91, it stood behind today’s Holy Cross Cemetery on a bluff about 50 feet above the Royal River.
It served as a blockhouse inside a stockade during the Indian wars. A tunnel ran from the cellar to the river, and the nearby dirt path is the old stage road once lined with elm trees.
As stagecoach travel increased, the stockade was removed and the house was enlarged to host overnight guests. The original house was clapboard; a northern extension later got shingles.
The first owner was Jacob Mitchell (c. 1672–1744), a dean and founder of the nearby Meetinghouse under the Ledge. His son Jacob III also became a deacon there. The Mitchell family lived there roughly 1729–1799, later followed by David.
The home later belonged to the Whitcombs, whose name is on a street near Princes Point Road. It was demolished about 1900, and the land was bought in 1916 to become a cemetery. Riverside Cemetery and Holy Cross Cemetery now occupy the northern end of what is today Smith Street.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:04 (CET).