Mackinac Island: A Step Back In Time

For those of you who don't know what Mackinac Island is, or who have never heard of it, or been there, it's an Island situated in the Staits of Mackinac- that is, the area between the Upper & Lower Peninsula's of Michigan, where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet.

In colonial times, the straits were a way for people to travel- both friend and enemy. First the French, then the British realized this, and Fort Michilimackinac was built on the shores of what is now Mackinaw City, right at the base of where the Mackinac Bridge now stands.

Once it was realized how vulnerable to attack it was, a new fort was built high on the Mackinac Island. This fort was simply named Fort Mackinac. This made for a great place, as the soldiers could see anyone approaching from most sides, and even after landing, it wasn't a short hike up to the fort. Anyone in the fort could see you well before you could see them.

That fort still stands today. Fort Michilimackinac was burned to the ground once the new fort was complete, and is now the site of the longest on-going archeology dig in the nation. It was started back in the 50's, and slowly, piece by piece, they have found the foundations and ruins of buildings and objects. Today, it's still  ongoing, and you can visit the site to see the buildings that were authentically rebuilt in the same locations as they were in before.

The Island is home to several historical sites, including museums, forts, homes, and more. The name Mackinac comes from the Indian given name of Michilimackinac, which means Great Turtle. From the side, the Island and it's lush forest resemble a large turtle.

One absolutely unique feature about this gorgeous little island, is that there are no motorized vehicles except 2 fire trucks on the entire island. While there are electric golf carts, it is absolutely forbidden to drive one across or on the paved roads.

The transportation of choice is bikes and horses. The island is home to some of the largest carriages ever made, and there is even a small museum at one part that has some historical carriages- including fire engines, and hearses.

You can bring a bike over to the island for $8 per bike, or you can rent one from one of the many shops in the downtown area, but the price is a steep $30+ per hour. You can also do carriage tours of the island.

The main tour picks you up right where you get off the ferry, and drives you through downtown, talking about some of the historical buildings. Then, you go up past the Grand Hotel, home to the worlds largest porch, at 660 feet long. It is painted white, and decorated with touches of yellow, and red geraniums. Large US flags hang from it, and they do charge money to come sit on the porch.

From there, the tour continues further onto the island, pointing out different sites as we go. Finally, the first part of the tour ends at Surrey House, a building with several small shops, a small museum of old carriages, and the starting point for the next leg of the tour.

For the next leg, guests are taken through the Mackinac Island State Park. This park was not always a state park. In fact, it's the nation's 2nd National Park. It has since been turned back over to the state of Michigan.

Hidden deep in forest, where camp fires are absolutely not allowed without a fireman and fire truck standing at the ready (it's said that if a fire were to start undetected, the entire island would be consumed in a matter of hours), are 2 cemeteries, right across from one another.

Both belong to the St Anne's Catholic Church, but one is for Catholics, and the other is for other religions. There are rules, though. You have to be a year long resident of the island for at least 10 years to be buried in either of the cemeteries. For the Catholic one, you must be Catholic, of course.

An interesting tidbit about the Catholic cemetery. A stone arch was built, complete with wrought iron gates, for carriages to drive through to enter the cemetery. Two mistakes were made.

The first being that when the letters were carved, St. Anne was spelled St. Ann. Due to spacing, there was no room to fix it. The other error was slightly larger, and more disastrous.

The gate is made of stone and wrought iron, with the large arch being stone. The height was carefully measured against carriages, and wheel height, then constructed. However, the provision for the person sitting atop the carriage driving was not made.

To this day, no carriage has ever driven through the gates. In the photo I took, you can actually see the access road that was made going around the gate. The gates were kept in place due to the cost of them. Now, they're just as historical as the rest of the area, and are kept for that reason.

All along the way, you can see gorgeous plants and trees. When we were there, I learned a few things. First- if a tree falls, it's left there to decompose and return to the Earth. Next, it is illegal to pick so much as a blade of grass, or a weed in the state forest. People caught doing so are fined heavily to the tune of $300.

Through out the trails, the carriage driver tells stories of the history, from the Indians, to the French, to the British. There are many stories to be heard, and many places to see. The tour comes out at Arch Rock, which is an arch like formation that is slowly being eaten away at by the weather. To really see it, you need to climb a long set of stairs. We were warned not to, as by the time we got up and down, our tour ride would be long gone.

There is a gorgeous view of the lake the bottom of the stairs, however. I got some pretty photos right at first, though it was a hazy day at the time. My batteries died at that point, and I was unable to buy knew ones until I reached the main downtown area again.

After leaving Arch Rock, we hear more stories, and wound up at Fort Mackinac, where we went in to visit the fort. They showed off a cannon blast, a soldiers formation, and many little buildings from when the fort was built.

That was the end of our carriage tour. Anyone not interested in going into Fort Mackinac was taken back to downtown. When we go in June, we'll also be getting off at the fort.

Once you've seen the fort, it's a bit of a walk downhill back to the downtown area.

The entire island is seeped with history, and many buildings are quite old. The state owns a home on the island for the governor to use when she wants to. The house was sold to the state with a strict provision- should the state ever wish to sell the home, they can not accept more than $15,000 for the price.

The house is worth millions, so it's doubtful they will ever sell it. The flag flies when the governor is in residence. On the day we were visiting, the flag was flying.

It's a wonderful little island to visit, and I would love to be able to go back several times a year, if I could! I am excited to be going next month, and the kids are also getting excited to go.