
Mackinac Island’s Field of Dreams
“The one constant through all the years…has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers…It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.”
“The one constant through all the years…has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers…It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again.”
With the holiday weekend upon us, let’s look at how the soldiers and civilians of historic Mackinac celebrated.
Modern visitors to Mackinac Island still have a chance to see numerous reminders of the community’s heyday as a center of the Great Lakes fur trade.
It’s a crisp morning in late May. Members of the 23rd Regiment at Fort Mackinac assemble on the parade ground in their dress uniforms and begin the slow, somber march out of the North Sally Port at Fort Mackinac and head toward the Post Cemetery.
With COVID-19 health precautions at Mackinac State Historic Parks, you can safely visit and enjoy any or all of the sites in Mackinaw City and on Mackinac Island this year.
Since its creation in 1929 the program has gone through many changes, however none quite as notable as the inclusion of Girl Scouts.
Opening day for Mackinac State Historic Parks’ sites is a little more than two months away, and MSHP staff have been busy readying new tours, exhibits, publications, and more.
To provide the soldiers with a taste of regular campaigning, through the 1880s the 23rd Regiment partnered with the Michigan State Troops (a forerunner to the Michigan National Guard) to host summer training camps. In 1888, the Michigan State Troops elected to hold the annual encampment on Mackinac Island.
For a brief time, from April of 1882 until September of 1884, Fanny Dunbar Corbusier and her family lived at Fort Mackinac. She and her family thoroughly enjoyed their time on the island, which was already a tourist destination.
Mackinac Island State Park cleanup is progressing well, and the park will be ready for the 2025 season. Click here to learn more.