We included this section on our website to give our visitors more information about Mackinac Island. This page will tell you more about the history and several of the attractions on Mackinac Island. Our sincere thank you goes out to the Mackinac Island State Park for the information and photos below, and we highly recommend that you visit their website at: www.mackinacparks.com
Mackinac Island State Park
Roads & Trails
Mackinac Island State Park Visitor's Center
Mackinac Island Downtown Buildings History
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
Historic Mill Creek
Fort Mackinac
Fort Holmes
Colonial Michilimackinac History
British Landing
Governor's Summer Residence
Sugar Loaf
Post Cemetery
Skull Cave
Arch Rock
Dwightwood Springs
Devil's Kitchen
Mackinac Island State Park
Mackinac Island State Park became Michigan 's first state park in 1895 when Mackinac National Park was transferred from the U.S. Government to the State of Michigan . ( Mackinac National Park became America 's second national park in 1875. It remained a national park until it was transferred to the State of Michigan in 1895. Yellowstone became the first national park in 1872.) Approximately 1,800 wooded acres of parkland cover 80 percent of Mackinac Island .
Automobiles are banned to preserve the island's turn-of-the century charm.
Stately Victorian cottages decorate the island's bluffs, and historic cemeteries are monuments to the legacy of past island dwellers.
Conde' Nast Traveler readers named Mackinac among the world's 20 most beautiful islands for scenery and environment in its July, 1999 issue.
With the creation of Mackinac Island State Park in 1895, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission acquired the original buildings of Fort Mackinac (1780-1895) on Mackinac Island . The fort includes the oldest standing structures in Michigan . In 1909 the site of Fort Michilimackinac (1715-1780) in Mackinaw City was added to the park system. Beginning in the 1950s the Park Commission acquired other historic properties. A restoration program was begun at Fort Mackinac and reconstruction at Colonial Michilimackinac, where several archaeological ruins have also been stabilized and preserved. There are currently 37 original historic structures preserved in the collection including Mackinac Island downtown buildings such as the early nineteenth-century Biddle House and 1829 Mission Church and the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City .
Roads & Trails
Automobiles have been banned on Mackinac Island since 1898. Because of this ban the island is a unique place to vacation and explore the many miles of roads, trails and walkways. Stretching eight miles around the island's perimeter, M-185 is a scenic shoreline road and the nation's only state highway without motor vehicle traffic. There are 61 miles of roads and trails within Mackinac Island State Park , most of which are wooded inland trails for hikers, bikers and horseback riders in spring, summer and fall. Many interior eastern trails are groomed and excellent for cross-country skiing during the winter.
Mackinac Island State Park Visitor's Center
Exhibits dramatize the island's natural history. Information on what to see and do is shared by friendly staff. Fort Mackinac and Downtown Building tickets are sold here. The center is conveniently located on the waterfront adjacent to village shops, the marina and Marquette Park . Open May 13 to October 9, 2005.
Mackinac Island Downtown Buildings History
Once the hub of the bustling fur trade, Mackinac Island served as a commercial depot for half
a century of fur trappers and traders.
Today, it features re-enactments from British 1770s occupation and the American Revolution era. A National Historic Landmark, Historic Downtown is accredited by American Association of Museums.
Today, in the downtown area of the island, you can tour five historic buildings Mackinac Island Historic Downtown Buildings include the Dr. Beaumont Museum/1820 American Fur Company Store, Biddle House, the Blacksmith Shop, McGulpin House and Mission Church that were part of the early 19th century fur trade. Experience a mix of fascinating history, interactive displays and memorable demonstrations.
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
Built in 1892, the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse guided Straits of Mackinac ship traffic for 65 years. The castle looking quarters housed two lighthouse keepers and their families. By 1957, construction on the Mackinac Bridge was complete and used for navigation purposes and the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was deactivated.
The Straits of Mackinac in Michigan is one of the busiest waterways on the Great Lakes . All ship traffic passing between Lakes Huron and Michigan travel this busy and, at times, dangerous route. To guide this flow of ship traffic the United States Lighthouse Service constructed a network of lighthouses, lightships and fog signals throughout the straits. By the late 1880s the US Lighthouse Service was determined that vessels entering the straits from the west were unable to see the existing lights. In 1888, the area of Old Mackinac point was selected for a new light station. The first structure built housed a steam-powered fog signal in the last part of the 1892 shipping season the new lighthouse was operational.
Across its 65 year history approximately 14 keepers and
assistant keepers served at the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse. Their primary duty was to light the lamp at dusk and extinguish it at dawn. In the early years, the keepers were required to clean and polish the 4th order Fresnel lens, refill the oil lamps, trim the wicks, dust and clean the lantern room, wash the windows, sweep the stairwell and have everything prepared for that evening's lighting. While much of their day was filled with maintenance of the station, the keepers were also often kept busy with visitors. Periodically, lighthouse inspectors popped in to insure efficiency at the site. Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was a desirable location, with Mackinaw City next door and "luxuries"such as a school, doctor and church nearby.
By the 1940s, modern forms of navigational technology made Old Mackinac Point's light out of date. Radar was being used by many ships, including Straits of Mackinac car ferries. The largest aid-to-navigation on the Great Lakes was also under construction in 1954. In 1957 the Mackinac Bridge opened to traffic and used for navigation purposes and the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was deactivated. In 1960 the Mackinac Island State Park Commission assumed responsibility for the light station which for years operated as a maritime museum. Today, the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse is open to the public as a restoration in progress.
Historic Mill Creek
As the Straits of Mackinac's first industrial complex, Mill Creek provided sawn lumber for the new settlement of Mackinac Island in the 1790s. As the community grew through the last part of the dominant fur trade in the 1830s so did the complex at Mill Creek.
In 1715, the French moved to the south shore, creating Fort Michilimackinac . Michilimackinac was a growing village that needed wood for the wooden palisade around the fort and the buildings inside. Boards were sawn slowly by hand to make floors, walls and roofs.
During the cold Mackinac winters each fireplace needed 15 cords of wood per year for cooking and heat. Within a few years, all of the trees close to the fort had been cut. After the British takeover of the fort in 1761, army cutters came to Mill Creek in search of trees. In February, 1771, one of the woodcutters, Corporal John Annan, died and was buried here beside the swiftly flowing waters of Mill Creek.
During the American Revolution, Commandant Patrick Sinclair chose to move the fort to Mackinac Island . With its high limestone cliffs and good harbor it was a more defensible location as American forces moved northward. Although many buildings were moved, many new buildings were built creating a tremendous demand for sawn boards. Since sawing by hand was so time consuming, a quicker way was sought.
Falling water had been used for centuries to run mills in Europe and America. However, in the Straits of Mackinac there is only one stream with sufficient drop and enough water to power a mill. Sometime in the late 1780s, this stream was dammed with a cedar log dam, and it became known as Mill Creek. The man who owned and operated the saw mill was Robert Campbell. A settlement grew up around the mill. As the area prospered and more people settled farms, a grist mill was added at Mill Creek. After Campbell died his heirs sold the mill to a wealthy island merchant, Michael Dousman.
The sawmill continued to cut boards for many years, furnishing lumber for Fort Mackinac, the Mission House in 1825, and the Mission Church in 1829. The mill was proving unprofitable with the decline of the fur trade business in the 1830s. In 1839 the complex were abandoned. The buildings and dam decayed.
The settlement was not forgotten, however. Local historian Ellis Olson, of Cheboygan, working from old records, rediscovered the site in 1972. He took his finds to the staff archaeologist of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. Several years of careful archaeological exploration located the dam, two houses and a barn. Some sites still need to be excavated. The sawmill and dam, workshop/barn and millwright's house have been reconstructed
Several miles of nature trails are waiting for you to explore them. Trails lead along the bluff and creek to an active beaver dam. Take some time to look closely at the many plants and wildflowers. Walk quietly and you may see some of the forest creatures which inhabit the park.
Fort Mackinac
Built during the American Revolution Fort Mackinac has stood sentinel over the Straits of Mackinac region for 225 years. During that time it served as a strategic military post, place where the first land action of the War of 1812 took place and headquarters for the second National Park in the United States . Today visitors can tour Fort Mackinac 's fourteen original buildings built in the 1880s by the soldiers stationed there.
As the military presence controlling the fur trade industry, British soldiers started to build Fort Mackinac during the American Revolution in 1780. The British had been stationed at Fort Michilimackinac on the south shore of the Sraits of Mackinac (present day Mackinaw City ), a wooden fort vulnerable to naval bombardment. With the successes of George Rogers Clark in capturing British posts in the south, and American forces moving northward, British Commandant Patrick Sinclair chose to relocate to Mackinac Island where the high limestone cliffs and good harbor provided a more defensible location. Many buildings were taken apart on the mainland and reassembled on the island. One of the first new buildings to be built on the island was the Officers' Stone Quarters, the oldest building in the State of Michigan today. The blockhouses, or 'forts within the fort', were built in the late 1700s for defense around the fort's perimeter. In 1796, through Jay's Treaty, the Americans occupied Fort Mackinac .
War broke out between the United States and Great Britain in 1812, and the British surprise recapture of Fort Mackinac from the weak north side was the first land action in the conflict. Surprised and outnumbered American troops surrendered the fort without firing a shot. British troops garrisoned the fort and built a new fortification, named Fort George , at the highest point on the island to act as defense on the weak north side. American troops attempted but failed to recapture the fort in 1814 during the only battle fought on the island. Within a year the Treaty of Ghent returned the fort to American hands.
Since then it has remained a part of the United States .
Fort Mackinac stood sentinel over the village below through the fur trade and the fishing industry. The fort waned in importance as the frontier moved further west and the fort was abandoned during many early to mid-19th century conflicts. During the Civil War three Confederate sympathizers were held as political prisoners at the Officers' Wood Quarters at the fort. After the war, tourism became the big business on the island and visitors came from many miles away to escape from cities and forget the war. To preserve the atmosphere and land on the island from commercialism the federal government formed Mackinac National Park in 1875; it was the second national park in the nation. The commandant of the fort served as the superintendent of the park. When the army decommissioned the fort in 1895 the park and the fort were transferred to the State of Michigan , becoming Michigan 's first state park.
Fort Holmes
Fort Holmes was built by the British soon after the capture of Fort Mackinac in 1812. The British named it Fort George in honor of the English king, George III. After the War of 1812, the fort was returned to the Americans and they renamed it Fort Holmes after Major Andrew Hunter Holmes, who died during the 1814 battle on the island.
Fort Holmes features a panoramic view of the Fort Mackinac and the Straits of Mackinac at the island's highest point--320 feet above lake level which offers an overwhelming view of the Straits of Mackinac.
Colonial Michilimackinac History
At the crossroads of the upper Great Lakes, French built Fort Michilimackinac was the military presence on the frontier. As a fur trade depot during the summer, winter traders brought furs from the north and west and exchanged them for goods brought from the east. 
After the British took control in 1761, French civilians, American Indians and British soldiers all lived within this strategic post.
People have gathered for centuries where the waters of Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. The Odawa, Ojibwa and other tribes came to fish and worship during the summer months. Adventurous French traders and missionaries came to the Straits of Mackinac starting in the 1600s to participate in the fur trade and spread Christianity.
In 1715 the French constructed a military post to remain close to their friends and trading partners at this gathering place. Michilimackinac, centrally located in the water highway system, was the most important depot for the upper Great Lakes fur trade. Furs were the business that brought great wealth to those who controlled the trade.
Like today, business was seasonal and Michilimackinac buzzed with activity in the summer. Beginning in June, 40-foot-long, birch bark freight canoes powered by strong-armed voyageurs arrived here from the East. Their canoes were full of eastern goods including woolen blankets, linen fabric, copper kettles, steel knives and beads. In 25-foot North canoes, the winter traders left Michilimackinac in late summer bound for American Indian villages along the rivers and streams of the Great Lakes watershed. During the winter they traded their goods for beaver, otter, muskrat, fox and other pelts trapped by American Indian men and skinned, stretched and dried by Native women. In the spring the traders returned to Michilimackinac with tons of pelts to again be traded with the merchant's goods.
In 1761 the British won the French and Indian War and took over the fort. Although French soldiers abandoned the fort, many French families remained in the community. They retained their property and continued to worship in Ste. Anne's Roman Catholic Church.
Area Indian tribes distrusted the British. English officials stopped giving gifts and insisted that Native people travel to Michilimackinac to trade their furs instead of with the winter traders. On June 2, 1763 an Ojibway band, while playing a game of baggatiway (similar to lacrosse), suddenly attacked and captured the fort. The assault on Michilimackinac was part of the larger Pontiac 's Rebellion. The British solders and traders who returned to Michilimackinac in 1764 learned to use many of the customs originally established between the French and Indian tribes.
The community grew and prospered as the trade expanded. Soldiers extended the fort walls and residents constructed more than 100 houses in a growing village east of the fort. But the American Revolution meant the end of Fort Michilimackinac . American George Rogers Clark captured British posts in regions south of Michilimackinac. This forced Commandant Patrick Sinclair to choose Mackinac Island with its high limestone cliffs and good harbor as a more defensible location as American forces moved northward. Buildings not disassembled and taken across the lake by ship or dragged across the ice were burned so enemy forces could not use them.
Since 1959 archaeologists and historians have been excavating and reconstructing Michilimackinac. Carefully scrapping away layers of dirt, archaeologists find artifacts and outlines of buildings that tell a lot about the people who lived there. Today about one-half of the fort's buildings have been reconstructed.
British Landing
It was at this site British forces landed in 1812 and launched a suprise attack on American forces at Fort Mackinac . It was the first action that took place in the War of 1812. Two years later, the Americans tried a similar tatic, but were unsuccessful in getting the fort back until the next year through the Treaty of Ghent .
Governor's Summer Residence
Constructed as a private summer cottage in 1902, this building was purchased for $15,000 (the original cost of the building when it was first built) by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission in 1944. In 1975 it was listed on the Michigan Register of Historic Places and in 1997 it was named to the National Register of Historic Places. The building serves the people of Michigan as the Governor's Summer Residence.
During the summer visitors can tour the residence on Wednesday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Sugar Loaf
Sugar Loaf stands 75 feet above the surrounding area and is the largest of Mackinac Island 's limestone formations. It was originally connected to the nearby high cliff known as Point Lookout. More than 11,000 years ago the erosive power of water washed away the softer rock in between and left Sugar Loaf to stand alone. A small cave on the north side is near the level of the highest shoreline of the ancient Lake Algonquin .
One local tribal legend says that a young chief was turned into this formation when he asked the gods for eternal life.
Post Cemetery
This military cemetery is located north of Fort Mackinac. Starting in the 1820s, this site was used for burials of soldiers and their family members at fort. Some civilians, who held government positions, including Edward Biddle, are buried here. The Catholic and Protestant cemeteries are nearby.
The flag at the Post Cemetery is kept at half mast to honor those interred there.
Skull Cave
One of Mackinac Island's oldest limestone formations, Skull Cave is located north of Fort Mackinac on the higher part of the island. Wave erosion from the ancient Lake Algonquin cut away the softer material around the limestone stack to form this cave.
A British survivor of the uprising at Fort Michilimackinac in 1763, Alexander Henry, hid in this cave until the excitement on the mainland had cooled. He recalled an uncomfortable night of sleeping on human skulls. The cave was used by a local tribe to bury its dead.
Arch Rock
Arch Rock is one of Mackinac Island 's most impressive brecciated limestone formations. About 4,000 years ago the lake waters slowly dissolved the softer material in the center of the solid rock. What was left was an arch high above the waters of Lake Huron .
One local tribal legend says this was a portal from one realm to another for the gods.
Dwightwood Springs
Named after Dwight Wood, a son an early summer cottager, this spring originates from a spring near Arch Rock. Although popular as a place to quench one's thirst in the early days, the water does not meet today's health standards and is not recommended for drinking.
Devil's Kitchen
A brecciated limestone sea cave on Mackinac Island along M-185. Wave action from eroded the softer limestone to form this cave.