Over the past two centuries, dozens of amateur and professional botanists have documented the rich natural history of Mackinac Island. To date, about 600 species of wild plants have been identified on Mackinac Island, including 270 wildflowers. Read on to learn more.
When you visit the Straits of Mackinac this summer, we invite you to slow down (or even sit down) and ponder the earth beneath your feet. You never know – you may reveal evidence of ancient life which thrived in very different waters, nearly 400 million years ago!
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:
In 2024 Mackinac State Historic Parks accessioned 365 objects into our permanent collection. Here are a few:
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.
Music is an important part of the Christmas season for many people. What Christmas music would the residents of Michilimackinac have known?
In the early 1970s, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission decided to reconstruct “Welcome,” a trading vessel originally built in the mid-1770s. A small boat to accompany the sloop was also built, and it’s now back home. Read on:
