Forts Mackinac and Holmes in 1815 Posted January 25, 2019 Captain Charles Gratiot, an American engineer officer, sketched both forts on Mackinac Island during the summer of 1814. Fort Holmes, here named Fort George by the British, was nearing completion when Gratiot made this sketch. National Archives At Mackinac State Historic Parks, we are fortunate to have a huge variety of historic information available to help us protect, preserve, and present the resources under our care. Our archives and artifact collections contain numerous descriptions and depictions of the historic sites we manage, providing unique snapshots in time. A great example of these descriptive works is a report written by Lt. Col. Talbot Chambers in September 1815, soon after American troops returned to Mackinac Island following the War of 1812. (more…)
From the Archives: Sunday School Minute Book Posted November 9, 2018 Mackinaw Mission Sunday School Minute Book, 1825 1955.217.1 Donated by Austin G. Packard Mackinac States Historic Parks archival collections preserves thousands of items documenting all aspects of Mackinac history. In this ongoing series we highlight some of these treasures. (more…)
The Fresnel Lens Posted August 31, 2018 One of the plano-convex lenses that make up Old Mackinac Point’s original lens. These simple lenses, sometimes called bullseyes, could be grouped together to project multiple beams of light. Fresnel lenses served as the heart of lighthouses around the world, including at Old Mackinac Point. Invented by French scientist Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1819, these brass and glass beehives bent, magnified, and focused light to project brilliant beams for miles. (more…)
The Fort Mackinac Never Sweats and Vintage Base Ball Posted July 21, 2018 “The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. –Terrence Mann – “Field of Dreams” The large, grassy field behind Fort Mackinac has served many purposes since the end of the Civil War. It has been a drill field for soldiers, a playground for scouts, and a great place to canter a horse. But the one constant on that field for nearly a century and a half has been baseball. Fort Mackinac soldiers established the first ball field on this site in the 1870s and continued to develop and improve the field until the fort closed in 1895. Local residents and summer workers played baseball at the “fort ball grounds” in the early 20th century. Since 1934, when Civilian Conservation Corps workers built the nearby scout barracks, boy and girl scout troops from across Michigan have played ball on the same field during the summer months. (more…)
A Peek Into The Past: The Pratt Photo Album Posted February 16, 2018 Companies E and K, 23rd Infantry, at Fort Mackinac, 1886 Mackinac State Historic Parks is fortunate to have an ever-expanding collection of original objects related to the sites we preserve and interpret. These objects help us share the many stories of Mackinac with our visitors. One of the more unique pieces in the collection is an original photo album and scrapbook assembled by Edward Pratt, a U.S. Army officer who served at Fort Mackinac and several other stations around the world at the end of the 19th century. (more…)
2017 Collections Acquisitions Posted January 16, 2018 Charles E. Waltensperger painting showing the coal dock on Mackinac Island. In 2017, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission accessioned 102 gifts and 85 purchases to the historic object and archival collection. Among the objects acquired was a 1934 map of Mackinac Island showing Civilian Conservation Corps projects, several black and white snapshots taken by tourists and photographic equipment used to document the state park collection in the 1970’s and 80’s. During the year, the park received several new paintings, became the caretaker for archival collections from Wawashkamo Golf Club, Little Stone Church and the Brown family and home for one of the largest models of a Straits of Mackinac railroad ferry. (more…)
The Christmas Mutiny at Fort Mackinac Posted December 25, 2017 Summer on Mackinac Island buzzed in the 1820s with the booming fur trade. Fort Mackinac was busy regulating the fur trade during this bustling time. The winter was a different story of long nights and monotonous work. This was the time that one of the most dramatic episodes to ever play out at Fort Mackinac happened, the Christmas Mutiny of 1829. (more…)
WPA and Mackinac Posted July 21, 2017 The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a New Deal work program established in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It provided skill-based jobs to unemployed Americans affected by the Great Depression. Through the WPA over 650,000 miles of roads, 75,000 bridges, and 8,000 parks were built. (more…)
Archaeology Update Posted July 14, 2017 MSHP staff member Alex excavating in the root cellar. We have reached the halfway point of the 2017 Michilimackinac archaeology field season. We have known since the project began that this was a fur trader’s house, and the numerous trade artifacts recovered this summer confirm that. We have found over a dozen gunflints, four trade gun caliber musket balls, several fishhooks, fragments from two Jesuit rings and glass beads in many colors and sizes. These have mostly come from the interior of the house. (more…)
The City of Mackinac Island Posted July 7, 2017 Did you ever wonder why your Mackinac Island t-shirt might have “Established 1817” on it? The answer happened 200 years ago today. (more…)