Fort Wilkins Historic State Park is a historic site and public recreation area managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in Copper Harbor, Michigan. The park protects the restored military outpost, Fort Wilkins, which was built in 1844 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The park covers about 987 acres and includes camping areas, places for visitors to enjoy during the day, and the Copper Harbor Lighthouse, constructed in 1866. Fort Wilkins Historic State Park is a "Cooperating Site" of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.
History
Copper Harbor is located at the northern end of the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is next to Lake Superior. It is one of the best natural harbors in Keweenaw County and became important after copper was discovered on the peninsula in the 1830s. In the early 1840s, many people looking for wealth moved to the peninsula because of the copper. The U.S. government worried about possible problems and violence, and shipping companies asked the government to build a structure to help ships move supplies and copper. In 1844, Fort Wilkins was built at the direction of Secretary of War William Wilkins.
The U.S. Army took control of Fort Wilkins, which is east of Copper Harbor, Michigan, on the land between Copper Harbor and the northern shore of Lake Fanny Hooe, in 1844. Soldiers stationed there were meant to help with local laws and keep peace between miners and the local Ojibwa people. Some Chippewa people opposed the Treaty of La Pointe, which gave the area to the United States in 1842–1843.
However, the fort was not needed. The Chippewa people mostly accepted the miners, and the miners followed the law. The Army built 27 structures, including a guardhouse, powder magazine, 7 officer’s quarters, two barracks, two mess halls, a hospital, storehouse, sutler’s store, quartermaster’s store, bakery, blacksmith’s shop, carpenter’s shop, icehouse, four quarters for married soldiers, stables, and a slaughterhouse, to support two full-strength infantry companies. Some of these buildings still exist today. Others were rebuilt after archaeologists studied the site.
In 1844, two companies (A and B of the 5th Infantry) were stationed at the fort. When war with Mexico began, these companies were sent to Texas and replaced by Company K. When Company K was also sent to the Mexican front in 1846, the fort was left in the care of a single soldier, Sgt. William Wright, who was the only person to stay behind.
After Wright died in 1855, the fort was rented to Dr. John S. Livermore, who wanted to create a health resort for sick people and others during warm weather. This plan failed after Livermore died in 1861.
In 1863, the U.S. government gave land to the states of Michigan and Wisconsin to build a military road between Fort Wilkins and Fort Howard near Green Bay, Wisconsin. This road was finished in 1872.
After the American Civil War, the U.S. Army took control of Fort Wilkins again from 1867 to 1870. The Army needed a place for soldiers to complete their service time after the war. Company E, 43rd Infantry, was stationed there from 1867 until May 1869, when they were replaced by Company K, 1st Infantry. The Army stopped using the fort at the end of August 1870.
In 1848, the Copper Harbor Lighthouse complex was started at the tip of the eastern point of land, also called Hays Point, which is at the entrance to the harbor. In 1923, the fort and nearby lighthouse became a Michigan state park. The site is open to the public in summer months, when it is staffed by people in costumes who act as soldiers during the fort’s final summer as an active post. The park also offers camping, fishing, paddling, swimming, and a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) trail for hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing.