Movie by the Bridge Posted February 11, 2020 Enjoy Jurassic Park in Michilimackinac State Park in Mackinaw City with the Mackinac Bridge as your background. Bring a blanket or a chair and a snack. This movie may not be suitable for younger audiences. This is a free event. #thisismackinac
Movie by the Bridge Posted February 11, 2020 Enjoy The Avengers in Michilimackinac State Park in Mackinaw City with the Mackinac Bridge as your background. Bring a blanket or a chair and a snack. #thisismackinac
Movie by the Bridge Posted February 11, 2020 Enjoy Back to the Future in Michilimackinac State Park in Mackinaw City with the Mackinac Bridge as your background. Bring a blanket or a chair and a snack. This movie contains adult themes and may not be suitable for younger visitors. This is a free event. #thisismackinac
Mackinac Parks: 125 Posted February 7, 2020 Mackinac State Historic Parks turns 125 years old in 2020. Established in 1895 when the federal government shuttered the country’s second national park, Mackinac National Park, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission has pursued the important mission of protecting, preserving and presenting Mackinac’s natural and historic wonders. Today, Mackinac State Historic Parks is a family of living history museums and nature parks located in Mackinaw City and on Mackinac Island. (more…)
What’s upstairs at Old Mackinac Point? Posted July 27, 2019 We get asked it all of the time: what’s upstairs at the lighthouse? Join Curator of History Craig Wilson for a look upstairs at the venerable lighthouse in this quick video. (more…)
A Legal Battle at the Lighthouse Posted June 21, 2019 The brick 1906 fog signal building sits just east of the 1892 keepers’ quarters. The 1890 fog signal originally occupied the space between the two buildings, where benches now line the sidewalk. Today, visitors to Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse enter the site via the Fog Signal Building, constructed in 1906. The machinery originally housed inside powered fog whistles, and later air horns, to guide sailors during periods of poor visibility. The building itself, however, was only constructed after a 13-year legal dispute between the federal government and the Village of Mackinaw City. (more…)
Winter at Old Mackinac Point Posted January 4, 2019 At most light stations on the Great Lakes, winter was a quiet time for the lightkeepers. With commercial freighters and passenger vessels frozen in their harbors for the winter, there was little traffic on the lakes to warrant keeping light stations operational. Some remote lights were even abandoned every winter, with crews returning only when the ice began to break up in the spring. At Old Mackinac Point, however, keepers stayed at the station and even continued to work once snow started falling. (more…)
Life as a Child at Old Mackinac Point Posted July 18, 2016 Although it was an official government installation intended to guide ships safely through the Straits of Mackinac, the Old Mackinac Point Light Station was also home to several families, complete with pets and children. Between 1890 and 1957, several kids lived at the station, each experiencing and sometimes helping with the daily routine of operating a Great Lakes lighthouse. Olsens- Keeper Henrik Olsen with his wife, Nila, and their sons Ray and Bruce. Keeper James Marshall poses with his three children sometime around 1930. They are proudly displaying the “Efficiency” flag awarded to Old Mackinac Point. Chester Marshall and Delcie, daughter of his sister Ethel, play outside on the station grounds in 1916. (more…)
