Historic Downtown Mackinac

Step inside these five Historic Downtown buildings and experience a time that isn’t so long gone, at least not on Mackinac Island. Smell hearty stew cooking over an open hearth; run your hands over wool strands on a spinning wheel; hear the clanging of a blacksmith’s hammer as steel meets steel, and then try it yourself. Take time to smell the herb garden, ask questions, see original 18th-century French-Canadian architecture, and hear the story of an accidental shooting that lead to a groundbreaking medical discovery. It all happened here—in these actual buildings. Make your story as unique as these buildings and the many experiences within them. Most of the five Mackinac Island Historic Downtown Buildings contain live interpretation with costumed, historic interpreters. These include the Biddle House (with hands-on crafts and open-hearth cooking demonstrations), the Benjamin Blacksmith Shop, McGulpin House, American Fur Company Store & Dr. Beaumont Museum, and Mission Church.