Fort Wilkins Historic State Park
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| Fort Wilkins Historic State Park | |
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| Location: | Michigan, USA |
| Nearest city: | Copper Harbor, Michigan |
| Area: | 700 acres |
| Established: | 1923 |
| Governing body: | Michigan Department of Natural Resources |
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park is a historical park operated by the U.S. state of Michigan at Copper Harbor, Michigan. It is a "Cooperating Site" of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.
Copper Harbor is located at the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, bordering Lake Superior. It is one of the best natural harbors in Keweenaw County and was a quick focus of attention after copper was discovered on the peninsula in the 1830s.
In the early 1840s, a copper rush took place, with fortune-seekers moving from all directions to this peninsula. The U.S. government was concerned about possible disorder and violence, and lake shipping interests asked Washington, D.C. to build an aid to navigation so that essential supplies could be shipped in and the copper moved out.
[edit] Fort Wilkins
The U.S. Army occupied Fort Wilkins, located east of Copper Harbor on the northern shore of Lake Fanny Hooe, in 1844. The troops stationed here were intended to keep the peace between miners, and to overawe the local Native Americans of the Ojibwa tribe; some Ojibwa opposed the Treaty of La Pointe that had ceded the area to the United States in 1842.
However, the fort proved to be unncessary. The Ojibwa largely accepted the influx, and the miners were law-abiding. The Army built 27 structures,including a guardhouse, powder magazine, 7 officer's quarters, two barracks, two mess halls, hospital, storehouse, sutler's store, quartermaster's store, bakery, blacksmith's shop, carpenter's shop, icehouse, four quarters for married enlisted men, stables, and a slaughter house, to house the operations of two full-strength infantry companies. Several of these structures still survive, including the officer's quarters, barracks, mess halls, hospital, sutler's store, powder magazine, and the quartermaster's store. Others have been rebuilt following archaeological excavations, including the guardhouse, icehouse (which was rebuilt using the original materials), married enlisted men's quarters, bakery and blacksmith shop.
When it was first garrisoned in 1844, two companies (A and B of the 5th infantry) were stationed there. When war was declared with Mexico in 1845, the soldiers were needed elsewhere. Companies A and B were sent to Texas and were replaced by Company K. The next year Company K was also sent to Mexico and the fort was abandonded, leaving behind a single caretaker.
While the army was gone, the fort was rented by a Dr. Livermore, who hoped to open a health resort for people to come and take the bracing lake air. This plan fell through after his death in 1861. Dr. Livermore's tombstone and that of his daughter can still be found in the Copper Harbor Cemetery.
After the American Civil War, the U.S. army briefly re-garrisoned Fort Wilkins in 1867-1870. Essentially, the army needed a place for men to serve out the rest of their enlistments from the war. Company E was stationed there from 1867 until May 1869 when they were replaced by Company K First Infantry. The army finally abandoned the fort for good at the end of August 1870. In 1923, the redundant fort became a Michigan state park.
[edit] Copper Harbor Lighthouse
The Copper Harbor Lighthouse was built on the tip of the eastern point of land that hugs the harbor. The current lightkeeper's dwelling house is a survivor of the first light tower (1848). An improved lighthouse, which also survives, was raised in 1866, and the steel light tower in current use went into service in 1933.
Both Fort Wilkins and the Copper Harbor Lighthouse are currently (as of 2006) operated as a unit of the Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries. They are open to the public in summer months. For ten weeks each summer (June-August) the fort is staffed with costumed personnel; they are historical interpreters portraying Army life during the fort's final summer as an active post, 1870.
