A scenic city in Northern Michigan pre-dates the United States, and even pre-dates some European cities.
Corey Adkins shows us the history of St. Ignace in this week’s Old Towns of Northern Michigan.
“Historically, St. Ignace is the third angle in the triangle of history. We’ve got Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City, and we’ve got the island, and we’ve got St. Ignace,” says Bill Peek, Michilimackinac Society president.
When people hear the word Michilimackinac, most think of the fort in Mackinaw City, but the term actually covers a huge area.
“This areas is called Michilimackinac. It includes Mackinac Island, the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula, the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula and a lot of the surrounding areas. And in the islands, you might see Bois Blanc, Round Island, St. Helene and all of that. That was basically the Michilimackinac area,” explains Peek.
Named after Saint Ignatius, of Loyola, who died in 1556, it was Father Marquette who was charged with setting up a mission in the Michilimackinac area in 1671.
“At first he went from Green Bay to Mackinac Island and then decided that the mainland would be a much better place to be, so he moved over here to St. Ignace in 1671 and set up the mission. He had with him the Odawa and Huron Native Americans that came from Wisconsin with him,” says Peek.
After the mission was set up, a fort was built in 1686.
“Fort de Buade was actually the first Fort Michilimackinac. As you go back into the records in Quebec, Montreal, that’s how it’s listed as Fort Michilimackinac,” explains Peek.
Fort De Buade didn’t last long.
“Till 1700 when Cadillac, who was the last commander of the fort took the Native Americans, and the Garrison and whoever else wanted to go down to what became Detroit,” explains Peek. “The fort was dismantled. The mission lasted another 2-3 years, and then it was destroyed, also.”
Today people can learn more about the history of St. Ignace by walking through the Fort De Buade Museum, or pay respect to Father Marquette at the Father Marquette Mission Park, next to the Museum of Ojibwa Culture, where some think the original mission was.
“That’s where Marquette’s memorial is and there may be some of his bones still there,” says Peek.
Still, all these years later, a busy port for ferry boats taking people back and forth to Mackinac Island. In 2021 St. Ignace will be celebrating its 350 year anniversary, Michigan’s second oldest town.
“It pre-dates the country, and it pre-dates St. Petersburg in Russia and a number of European cities aren’t as old as Saint Ignace,” explains Peek. “So it’s important if they love history to come over the bridge and see what’s here.”
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