Among the unusual finds from the 2022 Michilimackinac archaeological field season were two brass scale weights. They were found in the cellars of the trader’s house.
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.
Herbert Benjamin ran his blacksmith shop into the 1960s – long after most village blacksmiths had closed their doors. Learn more about Herbert and how he navigated a rapidly changing time on 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?
When you’ve had an archaeological dig that’s been active for more than 60 years, you end up with a million-plus artifacts and reams of field notes.
Eight artists have been selected for the 2023 Mackinac Island Artist-in-Residence program.
One of the next major projects tor Mackinac State Historic Parks will be the reconstruction of a unit on the Southwest Rowhouse. To prepare, MSHP staff have been going over the archaeological records and artifacts from the 1960s, when the unit was originally excavated.
The largest archaeological excavation to take place at Fort Mackinac was the site of the original provision storehouse. Interestingly, it was the second time the provision storehouse was excavated, but the first time at Fort Mackinac.
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?
In 2022 Mackinac State Historic Parks accessioned 176 objects into its collection and archives. Learn about a few of them here:
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.
