Father Marquette National Memorial

Before we drove by and saw the signs I didn't know that the Father Marquette National Memorial even existed.  It is contained entirely within Michigan's Straits State Park.  I've only been able to discover limited information about the site on-line.  Apparently there was a museum on the site in the past, but it burned down in 2000 (according to Wikipedia) and has apparently never been rebuilt.  There is no National Park Service presence in the area and it does not appear that a passport stamp exists at this time.  I found a picture of a stamp on a website, but the link to the NPS site (like the one in the page quoted below) goes to a 404 error page: http://www.nps.gov/fama/index.htm.  The stamp has a date of 2006, so it must postdate the destruction of the museum in 2000...  It is all quite mysterious--but at least the site does exist and can be explored for free, without need of a Michigan state park pass.

Map from Michigan.gov site: http://www.michigan.gov/images/mhc_areamarq_48076_7.gif

The 1600s and 1700s were an age of discovery in North America. While American Indian tribes had a great knowledge of the land, for representatives of the European colonizing nations it was a new frontier. France was one of the earliest European nations to explore what is today Canada and the northern United States, establishing its colony of New France. Father Jacques Marquette was among the leading French explorers in the New World. On behalf of France, Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet explored and mapped the Mississippi Valley, documenting its rivers and peoples. Today, visitors to Father Marquette National Memorial in St. Ignace, Michigan can learn about the life of this remarkable priest and traveler.
--from NPS website, Cultural Diversity section, Father Marquette National Memorial page

There were several small kiosks like this with several signs explaining various things about the memorial.

The restroom building (hidden behind this sign) was the only real structure that we saw.

I really like aspens and was thrilled to be able to see them on this trip.

This building, a structure quite open to the elements, is apparently the substance of the memorial

Born in France in 1637, Jacques Marquette became a missionary in the 1650s. In 1666, he was sent to Quebec, one of the major settlements in New France. At its height, New France covered a vast area ranging roughly from Newfoundland and the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Between his arrival in Quebec and 1669, Father Marquette traveled throughout New France, mostly in what is today the northern United States and southern Canada, spending time with various Indian tribes learning tribal languages. When he died, he spoke six tribal languages. From Quebec he went briefly to assist as a missionary in Sault Ste. Marie.
--from NPS website, Cultural Diversity section, Father Marquette National Memorial page

There were a good number of signs located inside the structure.

As a colonizing power, France had an interest in exploring the central regions of the present-day United States. Less than a year after arriving in St. Ignace, Father Marquette joined an expedition to map and document this unknown region. Louis Jolliet, a native of New France, led the expedition. In 1672, Jolliet and Marquette, chaplain on the trip, traveled from Michigan to Louisiana and then back up north, exploring the area that is near the City of Chicago today. The group traveled south on the Mississippi River, turning around where the Arkansas River joins the Mississippi. Though the Jolliet-Marquette expedition could have continued even further south, the expedition halted here to avoid another colonizing power--the Spanish. Much as the French were beginning to explore and spread in the north, so were the Spanish in the south. To avoid a confrontation, the Jolliet-Marquette group returned north via the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and Lake Michigan.--from NPS website, Cultural Diversity section, Father Marquette National Memorial page

Additionally there was an audio narration explaining Marquette's life.

Though the accomplishment of journeying almost the length of the United States in canoes alone is significant, the Jolliet-Marquette expedition is important for other reasons. Much of Jolliet’s notes suffered damage during the trip, leaving those of Marquette as the primary record of this amazing journey. Marquette’s notes established that settlement of the interior of New France was possible. A strong river, the Mississippi, ran from the north to the south, providing access and easily farmable land deep within French holdings. Though New France never expanded to fill the areas visited by Marquette and Jolliet, records of their expedition were invaluable to later explorers, and historians have found Marquette’s notes on the various American Indian groups useful. Some of these later explorers established Arkansas Post, which is also included in this travel itinerary.

Father Marquette died in 1675 in present-day Ludington, Michigan. Although he was originally buried there, his followers moved his body to the chapel of the mission he established at St. Ignace. This mission is located at State and Marquette streets. Today, visitors to Father Marquette National Memorial can learn more about Marquette by viewing the memorial and walking an outdoor trail that includes signs with information about the life of this great French explorer.--from NPS website, Cultural Diversity section, Father Marquette National Memorial page

The map in the floor showing his travels was quite interesting, I always love maps, especially those in unique places.

After going through the structure we continued down a looping path that according to the map took us past the former museum site.  When we started down we didn't realize it would be quite as long as it turned out to be--but the walk was a pretty one.

I assume that these structures had been used for some sort of interpretation earlier in the season.

There were many types of trees along the path.

The path also had many turns.

I imagine that this would be another great place to spot wildflowers earlier in the season.

I love seeing the varieties of different plants.

The path also featured a good number of signs, and you'll find most of them in this album:

~Matt