
Mackinac Associates Supporting Exhibits
Mackinac Associates are friends preserving and sharing Mackinac’s heritage, providing crucial support in the development of new MSHP exhibits.
Mackinac Associates are friends preserving and sharing Mackinac’s heritage, providing crucial support in the development of new MSHP exhibits.
More than 240 years have passed since wooden sloops brought wild hay to the King’s Cattle on Mackinac Island. During your next visit, scan the watery horizon and imagine the scene from a bygone era. Perhaps you’ll glimpse a broad, white sail billowing in the wind. Or listen closely, and just maybe you’ll hear soft, clanking cowbells as supper makes its way across the Straits of Mackinac.
Not only do stereoviews and stereoscopes allow us to see these historic photos of Mackinac, but they allow us to see them in 3-D!
More than 230 species of birds have been recorded on Mackinac Island and in the surrounding straits region. Here, we take a look at some detailed observations that a summer resident and ornithologist made in 1893.
In 2023 we accessioned 643 objects into our collection. Let’s learn about some!
Ice fishing has been an important part of the Straits for thousands of years, but dramatic scenes of net poles so numerous that they appeared almost as a forest are now nearly forgotten.
What’s the best season to visit the Straits of Mackinac? All of them! Learn a little about each season at the Straits:
While the Hospital Corps only came into being toward the very end of Fort Mackinac’s time as an active military post, it demonstrates another way Fort Mackinac experienced the changing times of the army.
When you think of Mackinac, you might think of fudge, or no cars, or horses, or the fort. But potatoes? “The best potatoes in the world grow at Mackinac.” Or at least they did. Read on!
Mackinac Island State Park cleanup is progressing well, and the park will be ready for the 2025 season. Click here to learn more.