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Tag: Colonial Michilimackinac

More Models of Welcome

Last month, we shared the story of a small boat from the reconstructed sloop Welcome, which was transferred to MSHP from the Maritime Heritage Alliance of Traverse City. A few weeks later, our staff returned to Traverse City pick up two large models of Welcome. The MHA is streamlining their historic maritime collection of small craft and interpretive objects, and MSHP and the Maritime Heritage Alliance have a long history of collaborating to preserve and interpret Great Lakes maritime history.

What’s New for 2025?

 As the calendar flips to 2025, the Mackinac State Historic Parks team is hard at work protecting, preserving, and presenting the rich history of the Straits of Mackinac by creating new exhibits, galleries, and tours, improving visitor experiences, celebrating a major anniversary, expanding our collections area and library, and finishing major infrastructure improvements on Mackinac Island.

Welcome Back, Welcome’s Boat!

In the early 1970s, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission decided to reconstruct “Welcome,” a trading vessel originally built in the mid-1770s. A small boat to accompany the sloop was also built, and it’s now back home. Read on:

Colonial Michilimackinac Opening Day

Step into Michilimackinac 1775: Outpost on the Edge, as Colonial Michilimackinac opens for the 2025 season. For Mackinac State Historic Parks, this is also the beginning of the America250 Celebration!

Wild Hay for the King’s Cattle

 More than 240 years have passed since wooden sloops brought wild hay to the King’s Cattle on Mackinac Island. During your next visit, scan the watery horizon and imagine the scene from a bygone era. Perhaps you’ll glimpse a broad, white sail billowing in the wind. Or listen closely, and just maybe you’ll hear soft, clanking cowbells as supper makes its way across the Straits of Mackinac.

A Goal Accomplished

We’re halfway through the 2024 archaeological field season, and we’ve met one of our major goals for the season. Learn more: