Father Marquette Memorial

This peaceful, quiet place deals with the life and spiritual motivation of Father Jacques Marquette (1637-1675), whose mission was the beginning of Sault Ste. Marie, and who also mapped the Mississippi River in his nine short years in North America. Interpretive panels are in the covered memorial by the parking lot. Especially memorable is the big map on the floor, showing his journey through the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. Marquette, an outstanding mapmaker, followed up on tips from Indians he knew on Lake Superior to become the first European to reach and publicize the Mississippi. A picnic area is nearby.

A 15-station interpretive trail culminates in a spot where an opening in the cedars permits a view of the Mackinac Bridge and the Straits. Interpretation focuses on the Straits area in the 1600s and 1700s, on its political and economic importance, and on how the Straits environment was used by native peoples and by the newly arrived Europeans. At the bridge overlook, panels bring to mind the 1673 canoe exploration of Father Marquette and fur trader Louis Jolliet, also a skilled navigator and mapmaker, as they passed below en route to the Mississippi. Additional material on Marquette and the Jesuits at the Straits is at Marquette Mission Park by the Museum of Ojibwe Culture in downtown St. Ignace.

The memorial/museum is south off U.S. 2 just west of I-75 and St. Ignace.(906) 643-8620. Free admission. Open Memorial Day thru Labor Day, possibly later. Handicap access: pathway, picnic area. Restroom probably too narrow.

Return to U.S. 2 from the Bridge

U.S. 2 FROM THE BRIDGE
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Father Marquette Memorial. Interpretive panels focus on how native people used plants and animals, and Marquette and Jolliet's 1673 journey from St. Ignace to the Missisippi. ... more

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