Decorating for the Holidays at Colonial Michilimackinac
A Colonial Christmas is December 13. What did decorating for the holidays look like during the 18th and 19th centuries?
A Colonial Christmas is December 13. What did decorating for the holidays look like during the 18th and 19th centuries?
Every night, at the stroke of twelve, soldiers could be heard marching to roll call. The only problem? There were no soldiers there. Fort Fright is based on French tales told at Michilimackinac. Enjoy “Soldier Ghosts,” from “Were-Wolves and Will-O-The-Wisps.”
The 2025 field season at Colonial Michilimackinac wrapped up August 23 with finds including glass seed beads, iron tools, and a rare metal-wrapped textile fragment. Long-time readers will also note that the tree stump has also been removed! Learn more here:
We’re past the halfway point of the archaeological field season. What have we learned?
It’s spring, and while many people think of gardening, archaeologists think of excavating. The 2025 archaeological field season at Colonial Michilimackinac has begun! Get re-acquainted with the dig site here:
Thanks to a onetime influx of infrastructure money, Mackinac State Historic Parks is in the middle of a construction boom. Archaeological potential is considered during project planning, and testing and monitoring are carried out when appropriate. Here is a rundown of what’s been a very busy winter:
In the late 18th century, a small number of sailing vessels crisscrossed the upper Great Lakes. Each vessel only required a few sailors to operate, with diverse crews that involved enslaved individuals.
Mackinac State Historic Parks offers 10 stunning wedding venues throughout its family of historic sites and state parks. Learn about them here:
As the calendar flips to 2025, the Mackinac State Historic Parks team is hard at work protecting, preserving, and presenting the rich history of the Straits of Mackinac by creating new exhibits, galleries, and tours, improving visitor experiences, celebrating a major anniversary, expanding our collections area and library, and finishing major infrastructure improvements on Mackinac Island.
