Support Mackinac Associates Fall Appeal on Giving Tuesday Posted November 27, 2020 Mackinac Associates’ mission is simple and encompassing: Friends Preserving and Sharing Mackinac’s Heritage. Mackinac Associates is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports programs at Mackinac State Historic Parks through membership dues and other gifts. Mackinac Associates has supported needed projects in every area of museum operation, and make possible interpretive programs, publications, exhibits, natural history education, park improvements and more. Unless otherwise designated, donations received on Giving Tuesday will go to support this year’s fall campaign raising funds to ensure we can continue the archaeology field project at Colonial Michilimackinac. With your help, 2021 will be the 63rd consecutive season for the Colonial Michilimackinac archaeology field project. Every summer from mid-June to late August, visitors can watch archaeology in progress at Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, the site of a reconstructed 18th-century fort and fur-trading village. An interpreter is on site to answer visitor questions, explain the process and show sample artifacts.Brass sideplate from a British trade gun. Started in 1959, the excavation at Michilimackinac is one of the longest ongoing projects of its kind in North America. Structures there are built on previously excavated areas and interpretation is guided by what was found at the site in addition to available records documenting that time period. Over a million artifacts have been recovered since 1959, providing valuable information regarding diets, trade goods, firearms and recreation, helping identify between French and British, military and civilian. A pause in this program could leave artifacts exposed and cause deterioration at the site. The longer the project takes, the more the integrity of the site is threatened. While public support is always valued and appreciated., it is especially critical during these challenging times. By supporting the upcoming season of the archaeology field project, you will help Mackinac State Historic Parks continue to protect, preserve, and present the rich historic resources of the Straits of Mackinac and make history come alive for all of us! 2020 has been a challenging year for many and Mackinac State Historic Parks is no exception. We hope you will participate in the fall appeal and Giving Tuesday and help us fund the archaeology field project in 2021. To donate to Mackinac Associates on Giving Tuesday or any other day, please visithttp://mackinacassociates.com/donate.htm.#preservemackinac#givingtuesday#thisismackinac
2020 Archaeology Wrap-Up Posted September 11, 2020 Lead seal stamed with the mark of the Compagnie des Indes. The second half of the archaeological field season had similar themes to the first half (see the first half recap here). Again, the most interesting artifact came from the central root cellar. It was a lead seal stamped with the mark of the Compagnie des Indes. The CDI was a French colonial enterprise chartered by the king. The seal would have been attached to a bolt of cloth or other textile imported by the company. It dates to between 1717 and 1769. This, combined with the stratigraphy (layers of soil) surrounding it, indicates that this cellar was in use during the French occupation of the house (mid-1730s to early 1760s) as well as during the later British occupation. Possible French wall trench. During the final week of the field season, we saw the first possible evidence of the north wall of the house. It is a strip of gray sand cutting through gold sand. In other units of the southeast rowhouse, the French house is a few feet narrower along the north wall than the British house, but has a porch, which the British house does not. The square the possible trench appeared in is the deepest in its east-west row (the row 210 feet south of the water gate), so it remains to be seen if it extends to the east and west. We do not expect to find the British wall trench and French porch joists until we open the row of squares to the north (the row 205 feet south of the water gate). After the excitement of removing the deep post in the first half of the season, we did not find the bottom of any more squares this summer. We opened the final two squares in the 210 row in the second half of the season. The easternmost is currently at the modern/colonial interface. The westernmost is in the layer of rubble created during the 1781 demolition of the fort. As was the case elsewhere in the house, there were a variety of ceramic sherds present. These included a fragment of a creamware handle, possibly from a pitcher, and a fragment of a polychrome tin-glazed earthenware teacup, similar to one found late last season. Site packed for the winter. We have now packed the site for winter and returned to the lab. Watch for a blog post in late winter to see what we learn as we clean and research this season’s finds.
Archaeology Update Posted July 24, 2020 Trade ring with what can be interpreted as a “V.” Halfway through the archaeology season we have found some interesting artifacts, the end of some features, and more questions. Cufflink, or sleeve button, with an image that could be a classical or religious figure. The root cellar in the southeast corner of the house has yielded exciting artifacts for several seasons. This summer began the same way, with a button and part of the bone handle from a knife. Now some horizontal planks are appearing, possibly evidence of a wood floor. We tentatively identified a second root cellar in the center of the house late last season. This still seems to be the case. Several interesting artifacts have come from this area. The first was an intact engraved brass “Jesuit” trade ring. Iron breech plug from a flintlock muzzleloader. The design can be interpreted as the letter “V,” the Roman numeral “V,” or something more abstract. The second part was part of a cufflink, which would have been called a sleeve button by its eighteenth-century owner. It has a glass or rock crystal set with an intaglio bust. The bearded man could be a classical or religious figure. More research will be done on this piece over the winter. The final artifact, so far, was an iron breech plug from a flintlock muzzleloader. It blocked the end of the barrel where it connected to the wood stock. It was discarded because the tang broke off. It is only the fifth gun part found in the house. We are eager to see what else this area has in store for us. Interior post, located about five feet below the colonial surface. For six seasons, we have been excavating around a post in the interior of the house. We have finally reached the bottom, six and a half feet below our datum, probably about five feet below the colonial surface. It is sitting on a flat rock. Located near the southeast root cellar, it could have been a structural support for the rowhouse unit. Given its depth, it could also be a remnant of the first (1715) fort. We are exploring both possibilities. What will the second half of the season hold? Stay tuned to this blog and the MSHP social media channels to find out. If visiting Mackinac is in your plans for the summer, come out and visit the site in person. We are excavating in the middle of Colonial Michilimackinac, and work will continue daily (weather permitting) through August 22.
At Last… Posted June 15, 2020 The site being prepared for the field season. The plastic containers protected wood posts under the plastic sheeting and straw over the winter. After a very long wait, MSHP archaeologists were excited to remove the straw and plastic sheeting from the archaeological site and begin preparing the site for excavation. Unfortunately, there was a lot of slump, especially along the north wall, so there is a lot of clean up ahead. The next step is to re-establish the grid strings used to record where features and artifacts are found relative to the overall master map. This will be our fourteenth season of excavation at House E of the Southeast Rowhouse. The rowhouse was constructed in the 1730s and this unit was owned by Charles Gonneville for most of the French era at Michilimackinac. By 1765 the house was owned by an as-yet-unknown English trader. Our initial research question for the project was how does an English trader’s house look different from a French-Canadian trader’s house? The early answer is that there is more trade silver and ceramics. This trader not only had fashionable furnishings, but dressed stylishly as well, based on the sleeve buttons and other adornment items we have recovered. Our main goals for this summer relate to the deep features previously exposed. We think we are nearing the bottom of the root cellar in the southeast corner of the building and hope to complete its excavation this season. There are two more deep features, which intersect, in the west and south-central areas of the house. We hope to better define them this season. As with any archaeological excavation there will be surprises that raise new questions. You can come watch history being uncovered at Colonial Michilimackinac every day from June 12 – August 22, from 9 am until 5 pm, weather permitting. You can also follow along all season on the MSHP blog and social media channels.
A Tool for the Colonial Kitchen: The Tourtière Posted June 5, 2020 If you love a good kitchen gadget, you are not alone. Cooks throughout history have always looked for the most efficient, reliable, and useful tools to help them manage food preparation. We think the tourtière fits this description perfectly. The 18th century tourtière is a cooking dish, and also the name of a double-crust meat pie. Tourtière dishes are made of heavy copper or brass and used in open-hearth cooking. Legs or a trivet allowed the dish to have hot coals shoveled underneath it to supply a slow and steady heat from the bottom. The flat-shaped lid has a shallow lip to catch hot coals to push heat down from above. As a result, the tourtière functions as a miniature oven. As you might imagine, most historic recipes specific to this dish are for meat pies. Those pies usually had top and bottom crusts and were filled with meat, seafood, or sometimes vegetables. Pie or tourte recipes varied from region to region based on the local specialties, and some place still have their own unique style of pie. At Michilimackinac, we know from archaeological and documentary evidence that mutton, pork, passenger pigeon, beef and especially fish were all available for use in pies cooked in a tourtière. Historical cooks loved a well-equipped and efficient workspace. Modern cooks still look for the tools that make it easiest to efficiently prepare delicious food. Whether it is a hearth, or a 21st century microwave oven, preparing food wouldn’t be possible without those reliable and favorite kitchen gadgets. We hope you’ll join us at Colonial Michilimackinac in the future to see our tourtière in action for our food programs. Visit our website for more information, and don’t forget to check out Mackinac Associates, which helps make food programs and so much more possible at all of our site.
It Will All Come Out in the Wash Posted April 17, 2020 According to some sources, the average American family washes 300 loads of laundry ever year. People are inherently dirty, and sweat, dirt, food, and many other things come into contact with our clothing every day. We clean our clothes to stay healthy and keep them looking good. Modern laundry machines and detergents can efficiently and effectively remove all that smelly nastiness from our clothes. But how did people clean their clothes before detergents and washing machines? (more…)
Ezekiel Solomon at Michilimackinac Posted April 13, 2020 With Passover underway, let’s take a closer look at one of Michilimackinac’s merchants: Ezekiel Solomon, who was probably Michigan’s first Jewish resident. (more…)
Education Outreach Brings History to Life Posted February 28, 2020 Presenting a program at the Gros Cap School near St. Ignace. Our historic sites may be closed for another two months, but right now small teams of interpreters are traveling around the state to bring Mackinac’s history to life in elementary school classrooms. Since its creation, the Historic Mackinac on Tour program has visited schools and presented to nearly 250,000 students. (more…)
Fort Mackinac’s Soldiers and the Statue of Liberty Posted October 28, 2019 The statue in 1890, shortly after it was completed. New York Public Library On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland and a host of other dignitaries formally dedicated the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The soldiers of Fort Mackinac, along with people across the country, helped make the statue a reality. (more…)
2019 Archaeology Wrap Up Posted September 20, 2019 The second half of the 2019 field season was as interesting as the first. Dark green case bottle. (more…)
