Fort Michilimackinac ( / ˌ m ɪ ʃ ə l ə ˈ m æ k ə n ɔː / MISH -ə-lə- MAK -ə-naw ) was a French and later British fort and trading post located at the Straits of Mackinac. It was built around 1715 and abandoned in 1783. The fort was situated on the northern tip of the lower peninsula of present-day Michigan, United States. It was located along the waterway that connects Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, which are part of the Great Lakes in North America. A rebuilt version of the fort is now the main attraction at Colonial Michilimackinac Historic State Park.

The modern village of Mackinaw City grew around the fort’s original site, which is recognized as a National Historic Landmark. The site is preserved as an open-air museum, featuring several reconstructed wooden buildings and wooden walls. It is now part of the state park.

History

The main purpose of the fort was to support the French-Canadian trading system, which connected the Atlantic Coast and the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and extended south to the Mississippi River through the Illinois Country. The fort acted as a place where supplies were stored for traders in the western Great Lakes.

The French first arrived in the Straits of Mackinac in 1671, when Father Marquette established the Jesuit St. Ignace Mission in what is now St. Ignace, Michigan. In 1683, they added Fort de Buade to the mission. In 1701, Sieur de Cadillac moved the French military group to Fort Detroit and closed the mission.

By 1713, the French decided to return to the Straits of Mackinac and built the wooden Fort Michilimackinac at the northern tip of the lower peninsula. In 1715, they sent Constant le Marchand de Lignery with soldiers and workers to complete the task. Over the years, they made several changes to the wooden walls of the fort. In 1730, Chevalier Jacques Testard de Montigny, a Lieutenant and a Knight of the Order of St. Louis, became the leader of the fort. He had previously led Fort La Baye (Green Bay, Wisconsin). Many of his family members later settled in Michigan.

In 1761, after losing the French and Indian War (the North American part of the Seven Years' War), the French gave up the fort and their territory in Canada to the British. The British continued to use the fort as a trading post. Most people living there were French and Métis (Ojibwe-French), who mainly spoke French and worshipped at Sainte Anne Church, which was in a small wooden building. Other residents included British fur traders, some of whom lived inside the fort in the southeastern row house.

The Ojibwe people in the area became upset with British rules, especially when the British stopped giving gifts to Native Americans each year. On June 2, 1763, during Pontiac's War, a group of Ojibwe played a game called baaga'adowe (an early version of lacrosse) outside the fort as a trick to get inside. Once inside, they killed most of the British people living there. They controlled the fort for about a year before the British took it back, promising to give better gifts to Native Americans.

The British later decided the wooden fort on the mainland was too weak. In 1781, they built a new fort made of limestone on nearby Mackinac Island. This fort was originally called Fort Michilimackinac but is now known as Fort Mackinac. Over the next two years, the British moved buildings from the old fort to the island by taking them apart and transporting them across the water in the summer and over the ice in the winter. Ste. Anne's Church was also moved. Patrick Sinclair, the lieutenant governor of Michilimackinac, ordered the remains of the original Fort Michilimackinac to be burned after the move.

Archaeological research and reconstruction

In 1933, the fort's wooden walls were rebuilt, and a small museum was created inside the fort.

In 1959, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission hired Michigan State University to study the fort. This work has continued every summer until 2025. The wooden walls built in 1933 were removed in 1960, and the fort was rebuilt based on findings from the archaeological studies.

From 1970 to 1973, archaeologists studied areas outside the fort and found three homes. Since 1974, their work has focused again on the area inside the fort walls.

Between 1959 and 1966, workers at the site were inmates from the Pellston Corrections Camp in Emmet County, Michigan. More recent teams include both paid workers and volunteers.

As of 2024, evidence shows there were at least 40 buildings inside the fort walls, with about 65% of them rebuilt. The following structures have been studied and rebuilt as of 2024:

• King's Storehouse – studied from 1959 to 1966, rebuilt from 1959 to 1969
• Priest's House – studied from 1959 to 1966, rebuilt from 1959 to 1969
• Church of Ste. Anne – studied from 1959 to 1966, rebuilt from 1959 to 1969
• Soldiers' Barracks – studied from 1959 to 1966, rebuilt from 1959 to 1969
• Guardhouse
• Military Latrine
• Blacksmith Shop
• Powder Magazine – studied from 1974 through at least 1977
• Commanding Officer's House
• Northwest Rowhouse
• Southwest Rowhouse
• Southeast Rowhouse – partially studied in the 1970s, rebuilding still ongoing
• South Southeast Rowhouse – partially studied in the 1970s
• South Southwest Rowhouse – partially studied in the 1960s and again from 1998 to 2007, rebuilt in 2013

Today

In 1960, the fort grounds were named a National Historic Landmark. The area was then restored, mostly using methods based on archaeological research, to become a place for visitors. As of 2024, the fort and its grounds are part of Colonial Michilimackinac Historic State Park in Mackinaw City, which is a major part of the Mackinac State Historic Parks. Paid and volunteer interpreters help visitors learn about the past through music, live shows, and reenactments, such as musket and cannon firings. This site is considered one of the most thoroughly studied early colonial French archaeological locations in the United States.

The state park includes the base of the Mackinac Bridge, the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, built in 1892, a day-use area with views of the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinac Island, and a visitor center with a gift shop.