Colonial Michilimackinac Opening Day Posted November 3, 2023 Step into the 1770s at Colonial Michilimackinac as we celebrate opening day 2024! #thisismackinac
The Mackinac Walrus Posted October 20, 2023 “The one thing on Mackinac Island that keeps stirring my mind is a skull … the uncouth skull of a great beast.”Lee J. Smits (1931) The next time you’re in Ann Arbor, be sure to stop by the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. In the Exploring Michigan gallery, look for the oddly-shaped object shown here. On the label, you may be surprised to read: “Walrus – Recent – Mackinac Island, Michigan.” This specimen is the front portion (rostrum) of a walrus skull, with its tusks missing. Sketches from a History of North American Pinnipeds (1880) and Encyclopaedia Metropolitana (1845) are shown for comparison. This raises several questions. When was a walrus skull discovered at Mackinac? What does “recent” mean? Did walruses once swim in Lake Huron? Read on for the amazing story of one of the most unusual objects ever unearthed at the Straits of Mackinac.The Discovery Frank Kriesche on Mackinac Island, by William H. Gardiner Franz (Frank) Kriesche (1863-1946) is well remembered for operating an art glass store on Mackinac Island. His shop, founded in the 1890s, offered custom glass engraving for tourists and local residents. Samples of his fine craftsmanship are on display in The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum. On a date unremembered, Frank visited nearby Round Island, perhaps on a family picnic. Imagine his surprise when he noticed a strange lump protruding from the sand. Unearthing it did little to solve the mystery of what he discovered. At some point, the unidentified item was donated to Fort Mackinac’s first museum. Established in 1915, the exhibit was a rather haphazard collection of relics, mostly displayed in the officer’s stone quarters. Lee J. Smits, a columnist for the Detroit Times, visited the museum in July 1931. He wrote, “the one thing on Mackinac Island that keeps stirring my mind is a skull … the uncouth skull of a great beast. Frank Kriesche found the skull on Round Island, close by Mackinac, many years ago. For a long time it was not identified. Lately there have been learned visitors who declare it is the skull of a walrus. It is not fossil, but bone. The tusks are missing. There were no other bones around the skull where it lay on the sand beach, and no one has ever come forward with the slightest clue as how it came to be there.”Michigan’s Marine MammalsDr. Russell C. Hussey, University of Michigan Amazingly, this wasn’t the first marine mammal found in the state. In 1861, a whale vertebra, found in western Michigan, was noted by state geologist Alexander Winchell. In 1914, a walrus bone was unearthed at a gravel pit near Gaylord. And in the late 1920s, a sperm whale vertebra and five whale ribs were excavated at various locations throughout the state. During the summer of 1930, Dr. Russell C. Hussey, professor of historical geology at the University of Michigan, conducted fieldwork in the Upper Peninsula. About the same time, he identified Frank’s mystery object as a walrus skull. That same year, Dr. Hussey published a report of Michigan whale bones which received national attention. His theory stated that marine creatures swam inland after the last ice age, when “the Great Lakes were once a gigantic arm of the sea,” connected by ancient river channels.The Walrus DepartsThe Mackinac walrus was described in the Journal of Mammalogy (May 1953) While it had been identified, the Mackinac walrus remained at Fort Mackinac for the next two decades, unreported in scientific literature. In May 1953, Charles Handley, curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, was the first to describe the specimen. He noted that details of its discovery had turned fuzzy over time. He wrote, “R.C. Hussey… was told that the skull had been found many years ago in a beach deposit (Algonquin or Nipissing) on Mackinac Island. The original data was lost in a fire.” While Fort Mackinac’s wooden soldier’s barracks did catch fire in 1951, very little damage occurred. Perhaps the incident served as a convenient smokescreen for years of poor record keeping. In 1954, Fort Mackinac’s collection was assessed by Alexis Proust, a curator from the Kalamazoo Public Museum. Proust spent a month on the island, “examining, sorting, and considering the potentialities of the museum.” Objects “not germane to the museum’s purpose” were to be returned to donors or disposed of. As Frank Kreische died in 1946, his walrus skull likely sat in a pile of unwanted and forgotten items. From there, it was recovered by a student and given to Dr. Hussey. In 1955, it was officially donated to the U-M museum by MSHP park superintendent Carl Nordberg.Untangling the Riddle In 1977, Charles Harington, curator at the National Museum of Canada, focused on a special detail of the Mackinac walrus. He wrote, “A series of nearly parallel, commonly long, cut and scratch marks are seen on the smoother parts of the cranial fragment. They are most evident on the right side of the rostrum, where a crosshatched effect is produced. I think these were produced by man … they deserve closer inspection by an archaeologist.” Harington doubled down on his assessment in 1988, calling the skull a cultural artifact, not a natural phenomenon. He noted a similar incised pattern was evident on a walrus tusk found near Syracuse, New York. He also reported specimens from New York, Ontario, and Quebec all revealed radiocarbon dates younger than 800 B.P. (before present). As the modern Great Lakes formed about 2,000 years ago, this meant sea creatures could not have swum to Michigan, and their remains were likely transported inland by Native Americans. After sitting in museum displays for about 80 years, the Mackinac walrus was finally subjected to radiocarbon dating. In June 1999, an expansive report, “The Late Wisconsinan and Holocene Record of Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) from North America,” was printed in the journal Arctic. Its authors noted specimens across the U.S. and Canada likely represented long-distance acquisition of walrus ivory. They wrote, “This would also seem to be the only plausible explanation of an even more remote find: the anterior part of a walrus cranium lacking tusks that was recovered from a site on Mackinac Island, Michigan, reportedly from a beach deposit, yielded an age of 975 ± 60 B.P.”Visit the WalrusDisplay of ancient marine mammal bones from Michigan at the U-M museum of Natural History Today, the well-traveled and sometimes mysterious Mackinac walrus remains on exhibit at the U-M Natural History Museum. The ancient skull fragment is displayed with a sperm whale vertebra and the rib of a bowhead whale, also found in Michigan. At the straits, new mysteries will be revealed during the 66th season of archaeological excavations at Mackinac State Historic Parks, which begins in June 2024. For more information, visit www.mackinacparks.com/more-info/history/archaeology
2023 Archaeology Field Season Wrap-Up Posted September 7, 2023 The site packed for the winter.The 65th season of archaeological excavation at Michilimackinac wrapped up August 24 and the site is now secured for the winter. This was our 17th season of work on House E of the Southeast Rowhouse. The most interesting finds of the second half of the field season were remnants of the house itself. The house was burned when the community relocated to Mackinac Island in 1781. The charred wood of the house was partially preserved in the sandy soil the fort was built on.The central cellar.Remnants of the walls and a floorboard in the southeast cellar. One of the defining features of this house is its two cellars. Most of the central cellar (except a portion of the northwest corner) is now five and a half feet deep. Remnants of the burned wall posts can be seen along the edges of the gray sand cellar deposit in the center of the image. The eastern half of the central cellar was also better defined. This cellar had plank walls and remnants of the walls and a floorboard were exposed this season.Humic stains from the north wall of the house (the dark soil at the top of the image. View of the north wall with the tree stump at the back. We were able to identify humic stains from the north wall of the house (the dark soil at the top of the image). Unfortunately we also confirmed that the tree stump we have been working around is right in the center of the east end of the wall trench. In the image you can see how the stump is in line with the reconstructed house wall of another unit of the rowhouse and the dark wall trench stain at the bottom of the image. The tree was not there when the house was; it was planted around 1910 shortly after Michilimackinac became Michigan’s second state park. The roots do not seem to have grown around artifacts, rather they displaced artifacts as they grew. Stay tuned to the MSHP blog to see what interesting things the archaeologists might discover in the lab this winter as the season’s artifacts are cleaned and better identified.
A Colonial Christmas Posted August 31, 2023 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’ at Colonial Michilimackinac, where the traditions of the 17th and 18th century are alive for all to explore. Lanterns light the path in Michilimackinac where storytellers recount the various traditions of historic residents, a retelling of the first Christmas at Mackinac in 1679, and the church at Ste. Anne’s prepared for Christmas Mass as it would have been in the 18th century. Create crafts to take home and bring the family out on the Parade Ground for historic games. All the while, enjoy delicious holiday snacks located throughout the fort. #thisismackinac Adults: $11 Child (5-12): $7 Under 4: Free Mackinac Associates (excluding Heritage level): Free
The Season Continues Posted July 20, 2023 Fragment of a white clay smoking pipe stamped with a maker’s mark. The first half of the 2023 Michilimackinac archaeological field season has flown by. The cellars continue to yield interesting artifacts. In addition to the gaming die found during our opening week (Our 65th Season Begins! – Mackinac State Historic Parks | Mackinac State Historic Parks (mackinacparks.com), an unusual white clay smoking pipe bowl fragment was recovered from the north edge of the central cellar. White clay pipe fragments are fairly common, but they are usually plain. This one was stamped with a maker’s mark. The motif is a jumping deer. It was used by a series of Dutch pipemakers in Gouda from 1660 to at least 1776. This is a reminder of the worldwide trade networks of which Michilimackinac was a part.With pieces recovered this year, archaeologists have been able to reconstruct this ointment pot. In the southeast cellar, the most interesting artifacts have been plain white tin-glazed earthenware ceramic sherds. These were able to be matched with some sherds from last season to form an ointment pot. This is the second ointment pot we have been able to reconstruct from the southeast cellar.Pewter button from the 8th Regiment. We also have been working in the northern section of the excavation. At the beginning of this season, most of this area was in the layer of rubble from the 1781 demolition of the fort. Interesting finds from this area include part of a stone smoking pipe bowl, two gilt sequins and two pewter buttons from the 8th Regiment. These are the soldiers who demolished the fort. In some areas all the demolition rubble has been removed, revealing the north wall trench of the building cutting through beach sand. This is easier to see in the west end of the house because a tree was planted in the east of the wall trench in the early twentieth century. While the location of the fort was never forgotten, its interior layout was.The dark area in the photo reveals the north wall trench of the building. The 2023 archaeology season continues through August 19. Visitors to Colonial Michilimackinac can watch archaeologists uncover history seven days a week, weather permitting, until then.
Preserving History and the Natural Beauty of the Straits Posted April 14, 2023 Enchanting. Relaxing. Magical. Mackinac evokes so many memories and images of a special place that has allowed individuals and families to create memories and unique experiences. In managing more than 80% of Mackinac Island and the properties at Michilimackinac State Park and Mill Creek State Park, Mackinac State Historic Parks has the unique ability to protect and preserve our most treasured natural and historical resources in the Straits of Mackinac. And through the park’s friends’ group, Mackinac Associates, you can be a part of preserving these wonderful resources for generations to come, too. Since 1982, Mackinac Associates has provided over $3 million of support for Mackinac State Historic Parks with funds raised through membership fees, sponsorships, and fundraising campaigns. These funds have supported an expansive and remarkable list of projects both large and small in every area of Mackinac State Historic Parks operation. Gifts made through Mackinac Associates make possible the interpretive programs, publications, new and renovated exhibits, natural history education, and park improvements that visitors enjoy every year. How can you be a part of preserving and sharing Mackinac’s heritage? Become A Member Mackinac Associates members are passionate about preserving the rich history and natural beauty of the Straits of Mackinac and can treasure the fact that they have a direct hand in helping to protect, preserve, and present Mackinac’s rich historic and natural resources. There are two branches of membership – Annual Members and Heritage Season Pass holders. Annual members receive a wide range of social and education benefits, including: Unlimited admission to all Mackinac State Historic Parks sites during the operating season 15% discount at all MSHP museum stores and on the Forest Adventure Experience at Mill Creek Guest admission passes at a reduced rate One-year subscription to Curiosities, our newsletter Invitations to Mackinac Associates member-only events and free admission for annual members to special MSHP events and programs such as Fort Fright and A Colonial Christmas Heritage Season Pass holders enjoy free admission at all Mackinac State Historic Park sites for two adults and children or grandchildren under age 18 during the current season. Heritage Season Passes expire October 31 of each year and do not include the additional benefits available to annual members. Learn more about available member benefits and how to become a Mackinac Associates member today: https://mackinacassociates.com/benefits Make a Donation Every dollar has an impact. 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, including: -Continuation of the McGulpin House Dendroarchaeology Study -Purchasing of supplies for the blacksmith shop at Colonial Michilimackinac and the repurposing of a barn building to move the blacksmith shop outside fort walls to a more historically correct location -Updates to the Dr. Beaumont Museum exhibition in the American Fur Company building -Colonial Michilimackinac Southwest Rowhouse addition design plan -Sign upgrades and replacements for Mackinac State Historic Parks -Electrical upgrades for Schoolhouse building in Fort Mackinac -Replacement circuit panel in Hill Quarters -Touchscreens within exhibits at Fort Mackinac and Colonial Michilimackinac -New projector for Fort Mackinac Post Hospital -Funding for The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum annual art contest prize money -Support for Mackinac State Historic Parks’ education outreach programs With your help, we can continue to support the programs, projects, and park improvements throughout all Mackinac State Historic Parks that will be impactful for many years to come. To make a donation and see other projects we have funded, visit https://mackinacassociates.squarespace.com/current-completed-projects. Leave A Legacy In managing more than 80% of Mackinac Island and the properties at Michilimackinac State Park and Mill Creek State Park in Mackinaw City, Mackinac State Historic Parks has the unique ability to protect and preserve the most treasured natural and historical resources in the Straits of Mackinac. Through the Mackinac Associates Legacy Society, you can help us preserve these wonderful resources for generations to come. Common considerations when thinking about planned giving include remembering Mackinac Associates in your will, designating our organization as a beneficiary, or the gift of retirement assets or stocks. If you have already remembered us in your estate planning, please let us know so that we can extend our gratitude and provide the recognition you deserve. Join us in this partnership to ensure future generations will be able to visit and enjoy our special place: https://mackinacassociates.squarespace.com/current-completed-projects. Support Our Wish List If you enjoy the interpretation and programs at Mackinac State Historic Parks, we support an ongoing wish list of items requested by staff for the Parks’ gardens such as plants, seeds and tools, period-appropriate clothing and accessories for our hard-working interpreters, equipment for our blacksmiths, carpenters, and fort soldiers, and publications for the Keith Widder Library. Items on our wish list usually range between $50 and $300 and represent supplies that we can always use more of as we continue our interpretive programs and demonstrations throughout our sites. A gift of any size can fulfill a tangible and essential need, to help us fulfil our current needs, visit https://mackinacassociates.squarespace.com/fund-a-need. Mackinac State Historic Parks has the unique ability to protect and preserve our most treasured historic and natural resources in the Straits of Mackinac. Thanks to the generosity of members, donors and sponsors, Mackinac Associates has provided over $3,000,000 in support of programs, projects and park improvements since its inception. Through Mackinac Associates you too can be part of preserving these wonderful resources for generations to come. To learn more, visit https://mackinacassociates.com/.
A Closer Look at the Collections: Cameos Posted April 7, 2023 One of the next major projects for Mackinac State Historic Parks will be the reconstruction of a unit on the Southwest Rowhouse at Colonial Michilimackinac. To prepare, MSHP staff have been going over the archaeological records and artifacts from the 1960s, when the unit was originally excavated. Today, our Curator of Archaeology, Dr. Lynn Evans, is looking at a cameo ring recovered in 1962.
Archaeology in Review: Brass Scale Weights Posted March 24, 2023 Weight found in the central cellar.Among the unusual finds from the 2022 Michilimackinac archaeological field season were two brass scale weights. They were found in the cellars of the trader’s house.Nested cups found in the vicinity of the church/blacksmith shop in 1959 The weight from the central cellar was a cup from a set of nesting weights. Of the fourteen brass scale weights ever found at Michilimackinac, all but two are from nesting weights. These are a series of nested cups plus a small solid trapezoidal disc which nests in the smallest cup. The best example of this is three nested cups found in the vicinity of the church/blacksmith shop in 1959. They were fused together in a fire. Over the years four other cup weights have been found. Based on differences in the angle of the sides at least two sets of weights are represented. The recovery of four of the small disc weights indicates a minimum of four sets. The weights are scattered around the fort, with an additional weight from the church, three from the barracks, three from the south southwest rowhouse, one from the southwest rowhouse and one from the Rue de la Babillarde in the southeast quarter of the fort. The cup found in 2022 weighs approximately half of an apothecary dram. It fits into a larger cup weight found in the nearby Rue de la Babillarde. Discs from the barracks, southwest rowhouse and south southwest rowhouse fit into it. We initially interpreted the symbol stamped in the cup as a fleur-de-lis, but further investigation reveals that it is more likely the crossed arrow and key of Nuremberg. Nuremberg was a center of scale making in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The weight from the southeast cellar is unique so far. It is trapezoidal, but much larger and heavier. It weighs an ounce and is stamped “GR” surmounted by a crown. This is almost certainly a reference to King George and indicates British use. The other unique brass scale weight found at Michilimackinac is a small square stamped ½ dram. It was found near the barracks wall in 1959 and is on display in the “Treasures from the Sand” exhibit at Colonial Michilimackinac. What were brass scale weights used for? The small weights are commonly referred to as apothecary weights. It is possible that the weights found in 2022, and the one found in the Rue de la Babillarde were used by Surgeon’s Mate David Mitchell who lived in House D of the Southeast Rowhouse. That would not explain the other scale weights found throughout the fort. It is possible that some of the others were used by merchants to weigh coins or other small but valuable items. In his December 31, 1778 inventory of his personal possessions, John Askin listed:a Weighing Beama smaller Dittoa Comn Weighing Beam old at ye Bakersa Sett of Cast WeightsBaking at Colonial Michilimackinac. The first two weighing beams may have been small balances that would use small weights like this. The last one would have been larger in keeping with the larger measures used by bakers. You can see a large weighing beam in action during the special Askin’s Men and Women at Michilimackinac weekend August 5-6, 2023. The two scale weights recovered in 2022 will be on display in the “Current Archaeology at Michilimackinac” case in the Visitor’s Center when Colonial Michilimackinac opens May 10, 2023.
Wit and Mirth: Leisure and Recreation During the Fur Trade Posted March 8, 2023 Even in the Great Lakes wilderness, the historic residents of Michilimackinac knew how to have a good time. Join the interpretive staff at Colonial Michilimackinac June 17 for “Wit and Mirth: Recreation at Michilimackinac”, a day full of entertainments that will allow guests to play games of skill and chance, take tea with the neighbors, hear historic poetry, laugh at jokes, and more. All events are included with regular admission to Colonial Michilimackinac, and all events take place during normal operating hours (9:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., last admission 6:00 p.m.). SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 9:30 a.m. – Fort Michilimackinac Open 10:00 a.m. – Bales, Barrels and Boxes: Supplying the Great Lakes Fur Trade Program 10:30 a.m. – Artillery Firing Demonstration 11:00 a.m. – Card Games at the Soldier’s House Program 12:00 p.m. – Literature at Michilimackinac Program 1:00 p.m. – Voyageur Games Program 2:00 p.m. – Gardens of Michilimackinac Program 3:00 p.m. – Artillery Firing Program 3:30 p.m. – Dice Games at the Merchant’s House Program 4:30 p.m. – Some Tea and Loaf Sugar: Tea at the British Trader’s House Program 5:30 p.m. – Music and the Fur Trade Program 6:30 p.m. – Musket Firing Demonstration 7:00 p.m. – Fort Closed for the Evening
Archaeological Collections Management at MSHP and the IMLS Posted February 24, 2023 Mackinac State Historic Parks has been conducting archaeological excavations at its sites for over sixty years. This has resulted in the recovery of over one million artifacts and reams of field notes, maps and other documentation of the excavations. Because excavating a site destroys it, preserving these artifacts and records is a crucial part of MSHP’s stewardship mission.Archaeological field records stored in the Petersen Center in Mackinaw City. For many years the artifacts were housed in Lansing, while the records were stored in Mackinaw City. Paper records were microfilmed, with the microfilm stored in a separate location as a physical back-up copy. Today the paper records are scanned instead. In the mid-1990s, MSHP purchased a computerized collections database package. We subsequently received a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to enter all the archaeological artifact catalog information into the database. Three data entry clerks were hired for two years to accomplish this task. The biggest gap in the initial data entry project was that the artifacts were still in Lansing, so their exact storage locations could not be entered.Archaeological artifact cabinets in the Petersen Center. With the completion of the Petersen Center in 2001, the archaeological collections were moved north. The vast majority are housed in the Petersen Center, but building materials, such as chinking and nails, which have less strict climate control requirements, are stored at Mill Creek. Once the collection was moved north, staff attempted to update the database with location information, but the task was too big to complete alongside other duties. In 2010 another IMLS grant was secured to hire three inventory assistants. Over the course of two years, they physically inventoried and updated the database record for all the Michilimackinac archaeological artifacts housed in the Petersen Center.Building materials stored at Mill Creek. While the Michilimackinac collection makes up the majority of the archaeological collection, major excavations have been carried out at Fort Mackinac and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park as well. Last year MSHP received another IMLS grant to inventory and update records for the Mill Creek artifacts and some of the Fort Mackinac artifacts. This grant will also include inventory and re-housing of a portion of the architectural artifacts stored at Mill Creek. This project began in October 2022 and will continue through August 2025.Alex Michnick inventorying Mill Creek ceramics. These grants have assisted MSHP in fulfilling the preservation aspect of its mission. By making the archaeological collection more accessible to staff and researchers, they also have made presenting the results of our archaeological investigations easier as well. Archaeological artifacts are exhibited to the public at all MSHP sites providing a tangible connection to the lives of the people who lived and worked at the sites in the past.
