June 6, 2008

Mackinac Island, Mich. - Mackinac State Historic Parks celebrates the 50th anniversary of the opening of its Fort Mackinac museum on Sunday, June 15 with 1958 admission rates to the fort for all visitors, band concerts and other festivities.

From 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., visitors of Fort Mackinac will be admitted at 1958 rates. Adults enter for 50 cents and children for 25 cents. Between 1 and 3 p.m., enjoy comments on 50 years of historical preservation and museum programs, a presentation of congressional resolution by U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak, a 50-round salute, and band concerts on the fort parade ground. The Tall Pine Council, the Mackinac Island Scout Service Camp Boy Scout Drum and Bugle Corps, based out of Lapeer; and the Glen Erin Pipe Band, based out of Lansing, will play at 1 and 2:30 p.m. respectively.

On June 15, 1958 a modest fort museum on Mackinac Island opened to the public, ushering in an era of preservation, reconstruction and restoration that would eventually lead to Mackinac State Historic Parks (MSHP) as we know it today, complete with four living history museums and parks; costumed, historic interpreters and park naturalists; and four accreditations by the American Association of Museums.

In 1957, Fort Mackinac was a crumbling fort, as described by the first MSHP Director Dr. Eugene Petersen. Built by the British during the American Revolution, it wasn't unusual for the defensive palisade and its well-used buildings to be in dire need of repair. What was unusual, however, was that the historic military installation not only received the TLC it needed and deserved, but it was eventually transformed from a "ghost town" to an 1880s-era living history museum, inhabited once again by American soldiers and Victorian ladies.

Due to the extensive efforts of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and many pioneering men and women, many areas of Fort Mackinac were transformed through the use of revenue bond financing: the grounds were spruced up, buildings were painted, and exhibits were installed in the Soldiers' Barracks. The cost to the public was 25 cents for children and 50 cents for adults. Following the nearly overnight success of the museum, which saw 118,882 guests in the first season, more revenue bonds were sold for further restoration of Fort Mackinac and the Mackinac Island historic downtown buildings, the reconstruction of Colonial Michilimackinac and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park, and restoration of Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, the later three located in or near Mackinaw City.

Visited by nearly 20 million guests since 1958, Mackinac State Historic Parks celebrates its 50th anniversary year by offering many exciting opportunities and events, including the June 15 celebration at Fort Mackinac, the very day the fort opened 50 years ago and the same day as the famed Mackinac Island lilac festival grand parade. In addition, the anniversary also will be celebrated by way of the June 21 Mackinac Associates G. Mennen Williams celebration and the upcoming release of Mackinac Treasures: The Museum Collections of Mackinac State Historic Parks by Steven C. Brisson.

To experience the accomplishments and hardships of the men and women who pioneered the creation of MSHP, visit MackinacParks.com and click on the 50th anniversary logo at the bottom left of the homepage. Articles on the pioneering men and women of MSHP, anniversary event information and a historic photo gallery are available here.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a pure Michigan 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).