Fort Michilimackinac State Park
Encyclopedia
Fort Michilimackinac State Park is a state park
in the U.S. state
of Michigan
. It is located in Mackinaw City
along the Straits of Mackinac
. The park contains Fort Michilimackinac
, which itself is dedicated a National Historic Landmark
.
is a reconstructed 1715 French fur trading village and military outpost that was later occupied by British military and traders.
Today, it features re-enactments from British 1770s occupation and the American Revolution
ary era. A National Historic Landmark
, Colonial Michilimackinac is accredited by American Association of Museums
.
was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post
in the Great Lakes
of North America
. Built around 1715, it was located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac
connecting Lake Huron
and Lake Michigan
, at the northern tip of the lower peninsula of the present-day state of Michigan
in the United States
. The site of the fort in present-day Mackinaw City, Michigan
is a National Historic Landmark
and is now preserved as an open-air historical museum.
The primary purpose of the fort was not military, but rather as a link in the French trading post system that stretched from the Mississippi River
through the Illinois Country
to the St. Lawrence River. The fort served as a supply for traders in the western Great Lakes.
The French had first established a presence in the Straits of Mackinac in 1671 when Father Jacques Marquette
established a Jesuit mission at present-day St. Ignace, Michigan
. In 1683, they augmented the mission with Fort de Buade
. In 1701, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac
moved the French garrison to Fort Detroit
and closed the mission. By 1715, however, the French built Fort Michilimackinac to re-establish a presence along the Straits of Mackinac.
The French relinquished the fort, along with their territory in Canada
, to the British in 1761 following their loss in the French and Indian War
. Although British continued to operate the fort as a major trading post, the Ojibwe (Chippewa) in the region resented British policies as harsh. On June 2, 1763, as part of the larger movement known as Pontiac's Rebellion
, a group of Ojibwe staged a game of bag'gat'tway (lacrosse
) outside the fort as a ruse to gain entrance. After gaining entrance to the fort, they killed most of the British inhabitants and held the fort for a year before the British retook it.
The British eventually deemed the wooden fort on the mainland too vulnerable to attack, and in 1781 they built Fort Mackinac
, a limestone fort on nearby Mackinac Island. Fort Michilimackinac was abandoned after the move.
The fort grounds were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is a popular tourist attraction as part of Colonial Michilimackinac State Park in Mackinaw City. The site has numerous reconstructed historical wooden structures and is considered the most extensively excavated early French archaeological site in the United States, with ongoing excavations each summer. There are daily cannon and musket firing demonstrations performed by costumed interpreters. There are also accurate cooking demonstrations in which park visitors can participate.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
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 located in Mackinaw City
Mackinaw City, Michigan
Mackinaw City is a village in Emmet and Cheboygan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2000 census the population was 859. The name "Mackinaw City" is a bit of a misnomer as it is actually a village...
along the Straits of Mackinac
Straits of Mackinac
The Straits of Mackinac is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is a shipping lane providing passage for raw materials and finished goods, connecting, for...
. The park contains Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America. Built around 1715, it was located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, at the northern tip of the lower...
, which itself is dedicated 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...
.
Colonial Michilimackinac
Colonial MichilimackinacMichilimackinac
Michilimackinac is a name for the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region along Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Today it is mostly within the boundaries of Michigan, in the United States...
is a reconstructed 1715 French fur trading village and military outpost that was later occupied by British military and traders.
Today, it features re-enactments from British 1770s occupation and the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
ary era. 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...
, Colonial Michilimackinac is accredited by American Association of Museums
American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...
.
Fort Michilimackinac
Fort MichilimackinacFort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America. Built around 1715, it was located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, at the northern tip of the lower...
was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
in the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Built around 1715, it was located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac
Straits of Mackinac
The Straits of Mackinac is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is a shipping lane providing passage for raw materials and finished goods, connecting, for...
connecting Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
and Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
, at the northern tip of the lower peninsula of the present-day 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"....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The site of the fort in present-day Mackinaw City, Michigan
Mackinaw City, Michigan
Mackinaw City is a village in Emmet and Cheboygan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2000 census the population was 859. The name "Mackinaw City" is a bit of a misnomer as it is actually a village...
is 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...
and is now preserved as an open-air historical museum.
History
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
through the Illinois Country
Illinois Country
The Illinois Country , also known as Upper Louisiana, was a region in what is now the Midwestern United States that was explored and settled by the French during the 17th and 18th centuries. The terms referred to the entire Upper Mississippi River watershed, though settlement was concentrated in...
to the St. Lawrence River. The fort served as a supply for traders in the western Great Lakes.
The French had first established a presence in the Straits of Mackinac in 1671 when Father Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette
Father Jacques Marquette S.J. , sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. Marie, and later founded St. Ignace, Michigan...
established a Jesuit mission at present-day St. Ignace, Michigan
St. Ignace, Michigan
Saint Ignace, usually written as St. Ignace, is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,678. It is the county seat of Mackinac County. From the Lower Peninsula, St. Ignace is the gateway to the Upper Peninsula.St...
. In 1683, they augmented the mission with Fort de Buade
Fort de Buade
Fort de Buade was a French fort at the present site of St. Ignace in the U.S. state of Michigan. It was garrisoned between 1683 and 1701.-The mission:...
. In 1701, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac was a French explorer and adventurer in New France, now an area of North America stretching from Eastern Canada in the north to Louisiana in the south. Rising from a modest beginning in Acadia in 1683 as an explorer, trapper, and a trader of alcohol...
moved the French garrison to Fort Detroit
Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...
and closed the mission. By 1715, however, the French built Fort Michilimackinac to re-establish a presence along the Straits of Mackinac.
The French relinquished the fort, along with their territory in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, to the British in 1761 following their loss in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. Although British continued to operate the fort as a major trading post, the Ojibwe (Chippewa) in the region resented British policies as harsh. On June 2, 1763, as part of the larger movement known as Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's War, Pontiac's Conspiracy, or Pontiac's Rebellion was a war that was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of elements of Native American tribes primarily from the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, and Ohio Country who were dissatisfied with British postwar policies in the...
, a group of Ojibwe staged a game of bag'gat'tway (lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
) outside the fort as a ruse to gain entrance. After gaining entrance to the fort, they killed most of the British inhabitants and held the fort for a year before the British retook it.
The British eventually deemed the wooden fort on the mainland too vulnerable to attack, and in 1781 they built 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...
, a limestone fort on nearby Mackinac Island. Fort Michilimackinac was abandoned after the move.
The fort grounds were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is a popular tourist attraction as part of Colonial Michilimackinac State Park in Mackinaw City. The site has numerous reconstructed historical wooden structures and is considered the most extensively excavated early French archaeological site in the United States, with ongoing excavations each summer. There are daily cannon and musket firing demonstrations performed by costumed interpreters. There are also accurate cooking demonstrations in which park visitors can participate.