The Biddle House is a historic house and fur trade

Fur trade

The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...

 shop space, built before 1800 on Market Street on Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island

Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European...

 in the U.S. state of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. It is part of Mackinac Island State Park

Mackinac Island State Park

Mackinac Island State Park is a state park located on Mackinac Island in the U.S. state of Michigan. The island park encompasses 2.81 mi² , which is approximately 74% of the island's total area of 3.78 mi² . The park is also within the boundaries of the city of Mackinac Island and has permanent...

. It is a Michigan Registered Site and a contributing resource to Mackinac Island's status as a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

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History and today

The origins of the Biddle House are unknown, but its New France

New France

New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

 architectural lines and heritage indicate that it was built about 1780, at the time of the first settlement of Mackinac Island by Euro-Americans. The American fur trade grew significantly on Mackinac Island after the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, and about 1822, fur trader Edward Biddle, a member of the Philadelphia-based Biddle family

Biddle family

The American Biddle family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania yielded numerous and diverse people of interest down to the present era.William Biddle and Sarah Kempe were Quakers who emigrated from England to America in 1681 in part to avoid religious persecution...

, occupied the house and refitted it to serve as a home for his family and a shop space to exchange trade goods for fur

Fur

Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...

s of the Upper Great Lakes ecosystem, including pelts from the beaver

Beaver

The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...

, mink

Mink

There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...

, otter

Otter

The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....

, and raccoon

Raccoon

Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...

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Edward Biddle's success in the fur trade was associated with two significant factors: his marriage to Agatha Biddle, a leading member of the Ojibwa

Ojibwa

The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...

 nation of Native Americans who possessed an extensive regional kinship network, and his close ties with the then-dominant American Fur Company

American Fur Company

The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...

 (AFC); most furs bought or sold by Edward and Agatha Biddle would also have passed through the hands of the AFC at some point. The Biddles bought the house outright in 1832.

The Biddle House, extensively restored in 1959, is part of the Mackinac Island State Park, and admission is by Fort Mackinac

Fort Mackinac

Fort Mackinac is a former American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century near Michilimackinac, Michigan, on Mackinac Island...

 ticket. The State Park interprets the Biddle House to its appearance in the 1820s, when it was the prosperous Biddles' family home. Interpretation centers on the house's reconstructed period kitchen

Kitchen

A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation.In the West, a modern residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a refrigerator and kitchen cabinets arranged according to a modular design. Many households have a...

, where the process of early-19th century meal preparation is demonstrated in a working open-hearth fireplace

Fireplace

A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...

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Listings

The Biddle House was listed as a Michigan Registered Site in 1960 as #HB02. A historic marker, posted adjacent to the Biddle House's front door, reads as follows:

This house is probably the oldest on the island. Parts of it may date from 1780. A deed to the property upon which a $100 down payment was made in 1822 by Edward Biddle was obtained by him in 1827 from the then owner. Biddle was a cousin of the Biddles of Philadelphia and a leading trader and citizen. For years he lived here with his Indian wife. The house is an example of the Quebec rural style. It is listed in the Historic American Buildings Survey and was restored by the Michigan Society of Architects and the building industry in 1959.