What’s New for 2023?
As the calendar flips to the new year, the Mackinac State Historic Parks crew is busy preparing its historic sites and parks for an exciting 2023 season.
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As the calendar flips to the new year, the Mackinac State Historic Parks crew is busy preparing its historic sites and parks for an exciting 2023 season.
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.
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:
Are there deer on Mackinac Island? How did they get there? Learn about the fascinating history of deer on Mackinac Island here.
The sun sets on the Straits of Mackinac. Fires crackle in stone hearths. The smell of treats and warm beverages fill the crisp winter air. Laughter, conversation, and more can be heard emanating from inside the palisaded walls. It’s A Colonial Christmas Saturday, December 10, at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.
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.
Before the Straits of Mackinac became a center of international fur trade, its waters were renowned by generations of Native Americans as an abundant fishery. Of the many species in these freshwater seas, the delicate whitefish, usually weighing 3-5 pounds, was the most prized catch of all.
It was 75 years ago this week that the other major Hollywood film featuring Mackinac Island, “This Time for Keeps” was released.
