Fort Michilimackinac, 18th-century French fort and trading post at the Straits of Mackinac

Built around 1715, and abandoned in 1783, it was located along the Straits, which connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan of the Great Lakes of North America.

The primary purpose of the fort was as part of the French-Canadian trading post system, which stretched from the Atlantic Coast and the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes, and south to the Mississippi River through the Illinois Country. The fort served as a supply depot for traders in the western Great Lakes.

The French had first established a presence in the Straits of Mackinac in 1671 when Father Marquette established the Jesuit St. Ignace Mission at present-day St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In 1683, they augmented the mission with Fort de Buade. In 1701, Sieur de Cadillac moved the French garrison to Fort Detroit and closed the mission.

By 1713, however, the French decided to re-establish a presence along the Straits of Mackinac, and built the wooden Fort Michilimackinac on the northern tip of the lower peninsula. They sent Constant le Marchand de Lignery with a contingent of soldiers and workmen in 1715 to accomplish the job.

Over the decades, they made several modifications and expansions to the palisade walls. Chevalier Jacques Testard de Montigny, who was a Lt. and a Knight of the Order of St. Louis, was appointed in 1730 and served for three years as commandant of the fort. He was previously commandant of Fort La Baye (Green Bay, Wisconsin).

The French relinquished the fort, along with their territory in Canada, to the British in 1761 following their loss in the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War. 

The British continued to operate the fort as a major trading post, but most residents were French and Métis (Ojibwe-French), who spoke predominately French and worshipped at Sainte Anne Church in a small log structure. Other civilian residents included British fur traders, some of whom resided within the fort in the southeastern row house.

The Ojibwe in the region resented British policies as harsh. On June 2, 1763, as part of the larger movement known as Pontiac's Rebellion, a group of Ojibwe staged a game of baaga'adowe (a forerunner of modern lacrosse) outside the fort as a ruse to gain entrance. After entering the fort, they killed most of the British inhabitants. They held the fort for a year before the British regained control, promising to offer more and better gifts to the native inhabitants of the area.

The British eventually determined that the wooden fort on the mainland was too vulnerable. 

In 1781 they built a limestone fort on nearby Mackinac Island. Now known as Fort Mackinac, it was apparently also initially named Fort Michilimackinac. The British then moved related buildings to the island by dismantling them and moving them across the water in the summer and over ice in winter to the island during the next two years. Ste. Anne's Church was also moved. Patrick Sinclair, the lieutenant governor of Michilimackinac, ordered the remains of the southern Fort Michilimackinac to be destroyed after the move.

Source above: Wikipedia

A recommended good read:

“Michilimackinac: A Tale of the Straits,” by David A. Turrill, 1989, 466 pages

"Michilimackinac: A Tale of the Straits," incorporated the real-life story of how Indians staged a "friendly" lacrosse game just outside the fort walls as a guise to lay siege and massacre all the English soldiers.

A rich and captivating historical novel that captures the events and occupants of Fort Michilimackinac, Michigan from the 1720s through 1763, and the French and Indian War. 

Detailed descriptions of the Ottawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibway tribes, and their partnerships with French trappers, the intrusion of the English and the resulting bloodshed are skillfully shared in this gripping tale of the Straits.

Author’s note:

"This is a work of fiction. I make no claim on Dame History other than to use the characters and events She has so generously provided. My primary concern in writing this novel has been to bring the story of Michilimackinac to life and to rescue its ghosts from the penitential fires of obscurity. 

On occasion, this task has required some 'truth enhancement' - what writers like to call 'poetic license.' 

What happens in this book is very closely to what really occurred, but to me, the 'sense' of drama is more crucial to understanding than the accurate portrayal of individual lives. The whole, in other words, is superior to its parts. I have supplied the dialogue and applied some make-up, but "the play's the thing.”

Reviews:

An incredible amount of digging has gone into reconstructing life during French and British rule. It's lively reading. -- Detroit Free Press

Turrill breathes life into the ghosts of Michilimackinac. He creates a living history lesson, adding rich detail of pioneer life. -- The Saginaw News