In the two months since our last update about the new exhibit being installed in the Commanding Officer’s House at Colonial Michilimackinac, a great deal of work has taken place to prepare the building for opening later this summer. 
Since March 2016, major construction has wrapped up inside the house. A professional mason plastered the new interior walls, which have since been painted to give the house a bright, cheery interior. The kitchen fireplace was also returned to operating condition, which required the installed of a new flue liner and other work inside the chimney. This fireplace and kitchen will be used for daily interpretive programs once the house opens to the public. Meanwhile, our staff carpenters have been hard at work completing the house’s cabinetry, windows, doors, and wooden trim pieces. Some of this woodwork has already been installed in the house, while other pieces are currently being painted with historically-appropriate colors prior to installation.
Work also continues on the exhibit panels and display cases. Our exhibit designer has been building the interpretive panels and is preparing to mount the original artifacts which will be displayed in the house. These artifacts were professionally conserved over the winter. Finally, other members of the exhibit team recently traveled to Kalamazoo to film actors portraying Arent and Rebecca DePeyster for the exhibit. These video segments will be projected at life size in the bedchamber, allowing visitors to get a glimpse of the DePeysters at home in the 1770s.
Although there is still more work to be done, every day the Commanding Officer’s House exhibit gets closer to completion. We hope you’ll join us at Colonial Michilimackinac a bit later in the summer to see the finished product!
