In 1847, Horace Greeley and Lewis Clark, newspapermen from New York on a tour of the Great Lakes, were seated on the porch of Mission House and saw a giant creature out in the lake. They agreed it was a Sea Serpent! But was it?
In 2022 Mackinac State Historic Parks accessioned 176 objects into its collection and archives. Learn about a few of them here:
Wintering on Mackinac Island has always been a desolate and isolated affair. While many were able to leave the island in winter, soldiers of the 23rd United States Infantry, Companies E and K, had to stay and adapt to their winter home.
If you were able to attend the Colonial Christmas event at Colonial Michilimackinac, you experienced part of how Christmas was celebrated at the Mission of St. Ignace at Michilimackinac in 1679. An earlier Jesuit Christmas celebration resulted in the first North American Christmas Carol, the Huron Carol.
Merry Christmas!
“What though the woods are bare and cheerless, the water-courses bound by fetters of ice, and the whole earth covered with snow? A cheery greeting, for all that, to those who burn the Yule log and brighten their homes with the holly and yew. They say these days are the embers of the dying year; then kindle the flames of life and love anew. Light up the candles that gleam in the branches of evergreen. Hang Christmas boxes on every bough. Make every one happy, old and young. Rejoice!”
Forest and Stream, December 25, 1873
Throughout Fort Mackinac’s military history, British and American soldiers were issued bayonets to complement their shoulder arms. Learn a bit more about them here:
Two hundred years ago, the incredible tale of Sergeant James Wingard, a survivor of Mackinac Island’s most terrible day, was the talk at dinner tables across the nation.
Are there deer on Mackinac Island? How did they get there? Learn about the fascinating history of deer on Mackinac Island here.
Mackinac Associates helps fund projects both large and small and this past year was no exception with nearly $200,000 in projects sponsored across Mackinac State Historic Parks sites and operations.
