Mackinac Island State Park is a state park located on Mackinac Island in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. A Lake Huron island, it is near the Straits of Mackinac. The island park encompasses , which is approximately 80% of the island's total area. The park is also within the boundaries of the city of Mackinac Island and has permanent residents within its boundaries. M-185 circles the perimeter of the park as the only motorless highway in the state due to the island's ban of automobiles. The park is governed by the

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

and the

Mackinac Island State Park Commission The Mackinac Island State Park Commission is an appointed board of the State of Michigan that administers state parklands in the Straits of Mackinac area. It performs public activities under the name Mackinac State Historic Parks. Park units incl ...

. On July 15, 2009, the park celebrated its 20 millionth visitor.20 Millionth Visitor Welcomed to Mackinac State Historic Parks July 15, 2009.
The park was first established as Mackinac National Park in 1875, which was the second national park established in the United States after

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowst ...

. In 1895, it was transferred to state control and reorganized as Mackinac Island State Park, which was the first state park in Michigan. The park contains many important historical and geological features, such as

Fort Mackinac Fort Mackinac ( ) is a former British and American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century in the city of Mackinac Island, Michigan, on Mackinac Island. The British built the fort during the American Re ...

, Fort Holmes, other historic buildings, historic sites, limestone caves, and other unique rock formations. The park also operates the

Mackinac Island Airport Mackinac Island Airport is a public use airport in Mackinac County, Michigan, United States. It is located northwest of downtown Mackinac Island, Michigan in the center of Mackinac Island. The airport is owned by Mackinac Island State Park Com ...

. Many of these sites are formally operated by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, which also operates two other parks around the Straits of Mackinac area: Colonial Michilimackinac and

Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park, formerly known as Historic Mill Creek State Park is a state park, nature preserve, and historic site in the United States state of Michigan. It is run by Mackinac State Historic Parks, the operating arm of ...

War of 1812

Mackinac Island played an important role in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(then a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colony). Fort Mackinac, upon the island, was built by the British army during the Revolutionary War. The British later relinquished the fort to the Americans in 1796, but then built and maintained a similar fort on nearby St. Joseph Island. The two nations used their island forts in a struggle to maintain supremacy over the waters of northern Lake Huron. As one of the opening actions of the War of 1812, the British captured Fort Mackinac and maintained it as a British stronghold until the end of the war. An American attempt to recapture the fort in 1814 failed in the

Battle of Mackinac Island The Battle of Mackinac Island (pronounced ''Mackinaw'') was a British victory in the War of 1812. Before the war, Fort Mackinac had been an important American trading post in the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It was important for ...

. When the war ended with the

Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...

in 1815, the island was returned to American control.

History

National park

Mackinac National Park on March 3, 1875 was designed by Congress as the country's second national park after

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

. Mackinac-born US Senator Thomas Ferry introduced the bill to do so after the Yellowstone designation. He argued that the active military personnel station there, as the island was then mostly a military reservation, would do double duty as caretakers of the island, which helped convince other congressmen. The park was placed within the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...

. With the leased parcel revenue plan in 1888, the fort was able to build trails, improve roads, and even put up an observation tower on the island's highest point at Fort Holmes. The War Department decommissioned the fort given its lack of military strategic importance in 1890. With the decommissioning, the troops were moved off the island leaving no one to care for the park. The department suggested a sale of the park. A grassroots lobbying campaign led in September 1895 for the U.S. government to turn over the park and fort to the State of Michigan. The state legislature established the Mackinac Island State Park Commission to manage the park and its structures as the first state park, Mackinac Island State Park.

Information centers

*Soldiers' Barracks *Visitor Center *Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau

Historic areas

Historic buildings

- museum * Fort Holmes * Mission Church - museum *

Mission House The Mission House at Kerikeri in New Zealand was completed in 1822 as part of the Kerikeri Mission Station by the Church Missionary Society, and is New Zealand's oldest surviving building. It is sometimes known as Kemp House. Samuel Marsden est ...

* American Fur Company Retail Store & Dr. Beaumont Museum - museum * Matthew Geary House * Benjamin Blacksmith Shop - museum * Biddle House - museum * Governor's Mansion (Lawrence Andrew Young Cottage) * Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum - formerly Indian Dormitory * McGulpin House - museum

Sites

* Battlefield of 1814 *

British Landing British Landing is a place within Mackinac Island, Michigan and is located on the shore of Mackinac Island, two miles (3 km) northwest of the island's downtown and harbor. British Landing is the site of a War of 1812 amphibious operation on ...

*Cemeteries *Lime Kiln * Marquette Park * Wawashkamo Golf Club

Caves and rock formations

* Arch Rock * Gitchi Manitou * Sugar Loaf *Cave of the Woods *Crack-in-the-Island *Eagle Point Cave * Skull Cave *Friendship's Altar *Sunset Rock (sometimes called Chimney Rock) * Devil's Kitchen *Robinson's Folly

Installations

* Anne's Tablet

Gallery

Mackinac Island HDR n8 1.JPG, Eastern shore of Mackinac Island, near Mission Point. Mackinac Island HDR n8 2.JPG, The main biking road around Mackinac Island, eastern shore. Mackinac Island HDR n8 3.JPG, One of many scenic beaches on Mackinac Island. Mackinac_Island_forest,_July_2014.jpg, Extensive forests cover the core of Mackinac Island.

Mackinac State Historic Parks

Mackinac State Historic Parks is an agency within the Michigan Department of Natural Resources lead by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. The Parks consist of several parks, museum and other historical areas in the Straits of Mackinac area with the major groups includes Mackinac Island State Park, Michilimackinac State Park and

in Mackinaw City. The agency is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, a seven-member body. The commissioner are appointed by the governor to six year terms with confirmation by the Michigan Senate. While a national park, the park was first overseen by the park superintendent, who was also the fort commander. With the military not wanting to fund the park, being non-military, and the National Park Service not formed until 1916, the department approved a revenue plan by a captain at the fort in which choice parcels would be leased to resorters to build summer cottages which started in 1885. When the park was turned over to the State of Michigan in 1895 to become the first state park, the state legislature established the Mackinac Island State Park Commission to manage the park and its structures.

Areas and attractions

*Mackinac Island State Park, Mackinac Island **

**Historic Downtown Mackinac ***The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum * Michilimackinac State Park **Colonial Michilimackinac **Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse *

, in Mackinaw City

References

External links

Mackinac Island State Park
* ttp://www.mackinacisland.org Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau Website* {{Authority control Protected areas established in 1875 Archaeological sites in Michigan State parks of Michigan Museums in Mackinac County, Michigan Protected areas of Mackinac County, Michigan Historic district contributing properties in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Mackinac County, Michigan Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Former national parks of the United States