Mackinac Island State Park Commission Meeting Posted September 23, 2022 A regular meeting of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission at the Post Hospital Administrative Office on Mackinac Island.
Mackinac Island State Park Commission Meeting Posted July 29, 2022 A regular meeting of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission will be held at the Post Hospital Administrative Office on Mackinac Island.
Mackinac Island State Park Commission Meeting Posted May 27, 2022 A regular meeting of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission will be held in the Petersen Center in Mackinaw City.
Twilight Turtle Trek Posted March 5, 2022 Mackinac Island Turtle Trek – A lantern-lit ski and snowshoeing trek through some of Mackinac Island’s natural winter wonderland. The trail begins at Greany Grove (corner of Arch Rock Road and Huron Road) with a bonfire and hot chocolate. The trail is groomed, track set, lit by lanterns and approximately two miles long. This is a free event sponsored by Mackinac State Historic Parks, Mackinac Island Community Foundation and the Mackinac Island Ski Club.
Mackinac Island State Park Commission Meeting Posted March 4, 2022 A regular meeting of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission to be held in Wixom. Exact location will be announced soon.
Twilight Turtle Trek Posted February 5, 2022 Mackinac Island Turtle Trek – A lantern-lit ski and snowshoeing trek through some of Mackinac Island’s natural winter wonderland. The trail begins at Greany Grove (corner of Arch Rock Road and Huron Road) with a bonfire and hot chocolate. The trail is groomed, track set, lit by lanterns and approximately two miles long. This is a free event sponsored by Mackinac State Historic Parks, Mackinac Island Community Foundation and the Mackinac Island Ski Club.
Twilight Turtle Trek Posted January 8, 2022 Mackinac Island Turtle Trek – A lantern-lit ski and snowshoeing trek through some of Mackinac Island’s natural winter wonderland. The trail begins at Greany Grove (corner of Arch Rock Road and Huron Road) with a bonfire and hot chocolate. The trail is groomed, track set, lit by lanterns and approximately two miles long. This is a free event sponsored by Mackinac State Historic Parks, Mackinac Island Community Foundation and the Mackinac Island Ski Club.
A Colonial Christmas Posted December 11, 2021 Join us at Colonial Michilimackinac for a taste of the holidays in the 18th century. From the first Christmas services in Mackinac recorded by Jesuits to later British and French-Canadian traditions, the Colonial Christmas at Michilimackinac gives visitors the rare chance to step inside the fort during the winter months to experience how people celebrated the holidays over two centuries ago. Festive treats, stories, and music, as well as hot drinks and crackling fires on the hearths, will be scattered around the candle-lit site for you to explore and enjoy. We hope you’ll join us for the Colonial Christmas at Michilimackinac! #thisismackinac
Mackinac Island State Park Commission Meeting Posted December 10, 2021 A regular meeting of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission to be held in Birmingham. Location will be announced soon.
Gurdon Hubbard and The Great Chicago Fire Posted October 8, 2021 Gurdon Hubbard.Hubbard’s cottage, “The Lilacs.” Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard first came to Mackinac Island in 1818 as a clerk for the American Fur Company. In the same year, his work took him to Chicago where he eventually settled and became one of the city’s most influential citizens. Hubbard’s business interests included opening the first meat packing plant in Chicago as well as being an insurance underwriter, land speculator and steamship company owner. He helped organize the Chicago Board of Trade, served as representative in the Illinois General Assembly in 1832-33 and was director of the Chicago Branch of the State Bank of Illinois. In 1855, Hubbard purchased eighty acres on the southern bluff of Mackinac Island and built a cottage called “The Lilacs” around 1870. On Sunday October 8, 1871, Hubbard and his wife Mary Ann attended morning services at the Reformed Episcopal Church in Chicago. Afterward, they had dinner with Hubbard’s cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hebard of Iowa, at the new Palmer House hotel. They returned home after attending evening services at Grace Methodist church and prepared for bed. As Mary Ann finished combing her hair, she looked out a window and noticed a large fire burning toward the southwest. The previous evening there had been a large fire in a wood planing mill on the city’s west side and she thought perhaps it had rekindled. She watched for several minutes and finally awoke Gurdon who quickly became concerned.Lithograph by Currier and Ives titled Chicago in Flames. Scene from the Chicago Fire of 1871. Gurdon dressed and prepared to take his family west of the city to his son’s home. Upon inspecting the route, Hubbard realized the fire was moving northeast and had jumped the river. When he returned to his home on LaSalle Street, he found the Hebards, who had left the Palmer House shortly before it was consumed. Several other family members, friends and neighbors were also there, hoping that the Hubbard’s brick house would protect them from the fire. Hubbard instructed several of the men to tear up the carpets, wet them in the cistern and spread them on the roof. Mary Ann and the maids provided food and beverage while the fire continued to move across the city.Madison and State Streets in Chicago after the fire. By Monday morning, the fire was only a few blocks away and nothing that Gurdon Hubbard could do would save his home. He and Mary Ann packed as much as they could and joined thousands of other Chicagoans as they fled the flames. Gurdon lost his fortune in the fire and was near bankruptcy due to investments in several of the insurance companies for which he was underwriter. Hubbard made the decision to pay off all the insurance losses for which he was directly responsible. Hubbard continued ownership of his cottage and property on Mackinac Island and it was suggested by a business associate that he sell some of the land to recoup some of his losses. In 1882, Hubbard borrowed money from wealthy Chicago friends and had his land on Mackinac Island surveyed and platted. The island had become the second national park in 1875 and property was in demand for constructing summer cottages. Hubbard’s idea was to build a fashionable resort hotel and cottage community. The land was platted for 132 building lots which he named “Hubbard’s Annex to the Mackinac National Park.” Hubbard promoted the lots throughout the Midwest and although the hotel was not built, he successfully developed a cottage community on the island that still thrives today. The sale of the lots helped Hubbard rebuild his fortune, most of which went to his family, as he passed away in 1884.Gurdon Hubbard and his wife, Mary Ann.Plat of “Hubbard’s Annex to the National Park.” On your next visit to Mackinac Island take a ride out on Annex Road and discover Hubbard’s Annex. The best source for Mackinac Island history, including the historic cottages and neighborhoods on Mackinac Island, is Fort Mackinac. The fort is open through October 24. Information on tickets can be found at mackinacparks.com.
