
So Many Events in June
Events galore within the Mackinac State Historic Parks family of sites!
Events galore within the Mackinac State Historic Parks family of sites!
One of the highlights of any visit to Fort Mackinac is interacting with our interpretive staff. Take a little peek behind the scenes on what it takes to open a site like Fort Mackinac and work here as an interpreter.
Enchanting. Relaxing. Magical. Mackinac evokes so many memories and images of a special place that has allowed individuals and families to create memories and unique experiences.
In 1878, Alfred and Alice Doherty settled in Clare, Michigan, in the midst of the state’s booming lumber industry…Their four children, Floyd, Frank, Lyda, and Alfred Jr., were raised in Clare and would grow up to love Mackinac Island.
In 1798 an article detailed plans for an exciting new museum, a “cabinet of curiosities,” located in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Which Mackinac wonders would you pick to display in this “infant museum” of early America? How about nuts and wild rice?
In 1847, Horace Greeley and Lewis Clark, newspapermen from New York on a tour of the Great Lakes, were seated on the porch of Mission House and saw a giant creature out in the lake. They agreed it was a Sea Serpent! But was it?
As the calendar flips to the new year, the Mackinac State Historic Parks crew is busy preparing its historic sites and parks for an exciting 2023 season.
Wintering on Mackinac Island has always been a desolate and isolated affair. While many were able to leave the island in winter, soldiers of the 23rd United States Infantry, Companies E and K, had to stay and adapt to their winter home.
Merry Christmas!
“What though the woods are bare and cheerless, the water-courses bound by fetters of ice, and the whole earth covered with snow? A cheery greeting, for all that, to those who burn the Yule log and brighten their homes with the holly and yew. They say these days are the embers of the dying year; then kindle the flames of life and love anew. Light up the candles that gleam in the branches of evergreen. Hang Christmas boxes on every bough. Make every one happy, old and young. Rejoice!”
Forest and Stream, December 25, 1873
Mackinac Island State Park cleanup is progressing well, and the park will be ready for the 2025 season. Click here to learn more.