Fort Michilimackinac is Still There. Why Haven't You Visited?

When was the last time you visited Fort Michilimackinac? For that matter, when was the last time you considered visiting Fort Michilimackinac? Or just thought about it? What I found to be VERY disheartening was that Google Maps doesn’t even list it anymore. What the heck is up with that?

I think most of us take it for granted that it will always be there, so we put off visiting. The last time I toured the fort was back in the 1970s, and there has been so much reconstruction in the last 50+ years, that I need to take another trip there.

Built with wood in 1713, the purpose of the fort was for Great Lakes trading as a supply post. It was constructed by the French as a way to re-establish their presence on the Straits of Mackinac.

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The French had no choice but to surrender the fort to the British in 1761 after their loss in the French and Indian War. The British continued the fort a trading post; but they hadn’t counted on an Indian uprising. The local Ojibwe were irritated with the British and their stuffy & strict policies, particularly eliminating the annual ritual of gifts to the tribes. On June 2, 1763, a group of Ojibwe tricked their way into the fort and killed the majority of the British.

The Ojibwe ruled the fort for a year before it was handed back to the British, who got another foothold after making promises of better and more gifts.

Seventeen years later – in 1781 - the British realized the old wooden fort was too vulnerable and traveled to Mackinac Island, where they built a new fortification made of limestone.

In the mid-1780s, the lieutenant governor of Michilimackinac had the original wooden fort burned to the ground. Approximately 150 years later in 1933, the fort was reconstructed with a small museum for the tourists.

Since then, archaeological digs have taken place, with more and more discoveries practically every year. Evidence of at least 40 or more structures within the fort have been discovered with many reconstructed, with yearly archaeological explorations taking place to this day.