(bugle fanfare music) - After I graduated high school, my mom put the thought in my head of, "Why don't you go try and working up on Mackinac?

It seems like a fun job."

I've been up here since 2023, and loved it ever since.

- At the caretakers.

- [Adam] Christian has found the perfect place to combine his passion for Michigan history, Mackinac Island, and sharing that history with visitors from around the world.

- Fort Mackinac was initially built in 1780 by the British during the American Revolution.

They have a fort over on the mainland at Fort Michelin Mackinac.

However, that is going to be a sort of imperfect post, and the Lieutenant Governor of Canada, Patrick Sinclair, is going to be very unhappy with it.

And in winter of 1779 to 1780, he physically tears down several of the buildings at Michigan Mackinac.

He then goes on to drag them across the ice.

He builds several buildings here at Fort Mackinac, and officially begins construction in 1780.

Fort Mackinac is then handed over to the Americans after the American Revolution.

It goes on to be captured by the British in the war of 1812.

The British are going to hold onto it for the entirety of the war until it's returned to the American government after the Treaty of Ghent is signed.

And from then on, it maintains as an American post.

It's going to be a fairly important station for the fur trade during these times.

Mackinac Island is a very central point for that fur trade.

It's also going to, later on in its history, be used as the headquarters of our nation's Second National Park.

In 1875, Mackinac National Park is established with Fort Mackinac acting as the headquarters and its soldiers in theory acting as the caretakers.

However, the soldiers are oftentimes just are not going to be paid, not going to have the time to actually spend much time out in that national park.

However, Fort Mackinac and Mackinac Island at this time is also going to be a very important place for tourism.

Tourism replaces the fur trade as Mackinac Island's dominant industry in about the 1840s, and we start to see tourists here at Fort Mackinac, even into the 1870s and '80s.

The time period we represent today is about the late 1880s.

That's the way that Fort Mackinac appears as it is now.

The fort is unfortunately going to be shut down in 1895.

The Army sees it as an unnecessary expense, and the fort and the national park are transferred over to the state of Michigan in 1895 and put under the Mackinac Island State Park Commission.

It's the same commission that runs the fort to this day.

- [Adam] The fort and its surrounding land became Mackinac Island State Park, the first state park in Michigan.

More than 130 years later, visitors can still step back in time and experience one of Michigan's most treasured historic places.

- One of our catchphrases is, "We make history come alive," and I think that is a great description of what we do here.

Well, my official title is a military interpreter here at Fort Mackinac.

My job is to present the history of Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island, and the straits of Mackinac in general in a engaging and educational way.

We run programs like the rifle firing, the cannon firing, and various different tours and demonstrations throughout the day.

(gunshot fires) We try and be very hands-on and very engaging with the public, so trying to make history and learning fun and spark interest in the past.

I am dressed as a field musician, so I get a lot of questions about the music used by the Army with drums, fights, and bugles.

(bugle fanfare music) Wearing the uniform can be something that's very engaging.

It makes us stand out.

It's also just a great learning tool.

I can take my helmet and show it to people and go, "Why do we think that it's so German in its style?"

And we can talk about the US Army's attempts to appear more professional to the public.

We can use the uniforms to talk about the different equipment used by the Army at this time.

And it also is very much often integral to some of our programs, like the rifle firing, where we have our cartridge boxes, and it also just allows guests to get some good pictures and have a very engaging experience.

- [Adam] From touring the oldest building in Michigan, and stepping inside a 19th century military hospital, to watching demonstrations on the parade grounds, (gunshot fires) there's history around every corner, but according to Christian, there's one spot inside the fort that every visitor absolutely has to experience.

- On a beautiful day like today, my favorite spot in the fort is probably the upper gun platform.

That's where we do all of the cannon firings.

- [Shooter] Ready, fire!

(cannon fires) - We have just one of my favorite programs to give up there, and it's just a great environment.

Usually if you're on the upper gun platform, you're going to be having a good time.

(cannon fires)