Historic Downtown Mackinac Admission
Overview
Mobile ticket
Historic Downtown Mackinac is a collection of historic sites located throughout downtown Mackinac Island, presenting history from pre-European contact into the 1950s. This self-guided museum experience includes The Biddle House, featuring the Mackinac Island Native American Museum, explores the history of the Anishnaabek people of Mackinac Island through the lens of Agatha Biddle, an Odawa woman who lived in the house in the 1830s. The Benjamin Blacksmith Shop is a working blacksmith shop set in the 1950s, toward the end of the shop's life. The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum displays works inspired by Mackinac Island, including a juried exhibition. The American Fur Co. Store & Dr. Beaumont Museum was the site of a famous accident that altered the course of medical history, while the McGulpin House is a rare example of French Canadian architecture, and possibly the oldest residence still standing on Mackinac Island.
Additional Info
Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
What To Expect
Biddle House
Step into the home of Agatha and Edward Biddle, merchants who moved in around 1830. This was a time of change, and the 1830s were critical to the Biddles for another reason: as an Anishnaabek woman, Agatha and other indigenous people witnessed their culture subjected to immense changes. The decade transformed the Anishnaabek, linking old ways with Michigan’s modern indigenous culture. The continuing story of the Anishnaabek of northern Michigan is not always a happy one. It is a story of battles won and lost, promises made and broken, and cultures repressed and resurgent. Most importantly, the story in which the Biddle family played a role is one that continues today. This exhibit, created in conjunction with tribal partners, explores that story and how it still resonates on Mackinac Island and throughout northern Michigan.
Originally built in the 1880s, Robert Benjamin and later his son, Herbert, ran a blacksmith shop into the 1960s. The contents of the shop were moved to the reconstructed building in 1970. The Benjamin’s fixed carriage wheels and shoed horses in the early days and repaired lawnmowers and maintained yacht motors in later years.
What‘s Included
Admission to McGulpin House June 1-August 17
Admission to the American Fur Co. Store & Dr. Beaumont Museum June 1-August 17
Meeting points
Biddle House
7406 Market St Mackinac County United States
End points
This activity ends back at the meeting point.
Options
Historic Downtown Mackinac Admission
Reviews
3 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Not worth the price
tinabT5049DZ,Jun 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00It was not worth the price of what is included and not included. Just buy the ticket for what you want to see when you are there and not the bundle.
A bit of history of the island
LitHSBlessings,Jul 27, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00You buy a ticket to go into the historic buildings. You can buy a ticket just for the buildings or a combo ticket with the fort. If this is something you know you want to do off the ferry, I’d recommend heading to the blacksmith shop directly from the ferry. This will cut out walking along the congested main street. Cross Main Street (watching for bikes and horses-don’t linger in the road), Head up Hoban St away from the dock. Make a right on Market Street. The Biddle House and Benjamin Blacksmith shop will be on your left. You can get your tickets there and ask the locations of the historic buildings. Your ticket includes entrance into 5 buildings with exhibits; a few interpreters and there is a working blacksmith. We recommend picking out something from the blacksmith shop to buy as a souvenir. It is by donation and the blacksmith is one of the most informative we’ve found and very helpful to fellow blacksmiths. Exhibits tell about local families, local native American tribes, and the Alexis St. Martin story. There is a general store set up and a working kitchen as well. We also visited the church at the end of Market Street and the missionary hut on the green in front of the fort (although these were free to enter).
Shame on TripAdvisor
58PaulaG652,Jul 10, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
3.00I was very disappointed in your organization of the tour. You needed a map (that I would have printed) to know where the five stops were located. It was frustrating. We stopped At several places to obtain a map, no luck. We finally found a MAP at the Fort, which ironically was not on the tour. The locations were VERY interesting but TripAdvisor made the morning stressful
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