March 11, 2008

The Mackinac Island State Park Commission will hold its second meeting of the year at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19 in East Lansing.  The meeting will take place in room 103AB of the Kellogg Center, located on the campus of Michigan State University.

The Mackinac Island State Park Commission is the seven-member governing body of Mackinac State Historic Parks.   In 1875, the government land on Mackinac Island - encompassing 50 percent of the island - was designated the second national park in the United States.  It was turned over to the State of Michigan in 1895, becoming Michigan's first state park.  At that time, the state legislature created the Mackinac Island State Park Commission to be stewards of the park and its many historic structures.  Due to the commission's efforts, parkland now encompasses 80 percent of Mackinac Island, which includes 1,800 acres.  The commission now also oversees and manages parks on the mainland.  The Mackinac Island State Park Commission is responsible for a combined 2,500 acres of parkland within Mackinac State Historic Parks, over 110 buildings, and approximately 1.7 million artifacts.

"During its 112 years of history, the commission has protected, preserved and presented the parks' historic and natural resources by securing additional park acreage, restoring historic structures, and creating and operating one of the most visited history museum systems in the nation," said Mackinac State Historic Parks' Director Phil Porter. 

Mackinac Island State Park commissioners, who serve six-year terms, are appointed by the governor of Michigan and confirmed by the Michigan Senate.  Frank J. Kelley, commission chairman, has served in his current post since 2007 and has a combined eight years of service to the commission.  Kelley, of Okemos, Michigan, is the longest-serving state attorney general in U.S. history, serving as Michigan's top attorney from 1961 through 1998.  In 1999, he re-entered private practice to co-found Kelley Cawthorne with former Michigan House Republican Leader and current vice chairman of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission Dennis O. Cawthorne.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan's Straits of Mackinac, is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites - which are accredited by the American Association of Museums - include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park, and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island and Colonial Michilimackinac, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in Mackinaw City.  Mackinac State Historic Parks is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 to protect, preserve and present the parks' rich historic and natural resources for the education and recreation of future generations.  Visitor information is available at (231) 436-4100 or on the Web at www.MackinacParks.com.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).