Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park

For Mill Creek Park, Ohio, see Mill Creek Park.

Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park
The Historic Sawmill
Location within the state of Michigan
Location	Mackinaw Township, Cheboygan County, Michigan, USA
Nearest city	Mackinaw City, Michigan
Coordinates	45°44′20″N 84°40′35″W / 45.73889°N 84.67639°W / 45.73889; -84.67639Coordinates: 45°44′20″N 84°40′35″W / 45.73889°N 84.67639°W / 45.73889; -84.67639
Area	625 acres (2.5 km²)
Governing body	Michigan Department of Natural Resources/Mackinac Island State Park Commission

Campbell Farm Site
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Michigan State Historic Site
Area	6 acres (2.4 ha)
NRHP Reference #	78001496^[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 31, 1978
Designated MSHS	March 20, 1984^[2]
http://www.mackinacparks.com/historic-mill-creek-discovery-park/

Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park, formerly known as Historic Mill Creek State Park is a state park, nature preserve, and historic site in the United States state of Michigan. It is run by Mackinac State Historic Parks, the operating arm of the Mackinac Island State Park. 625 acres (2.5 km²) in size, the park is located 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Mackinaw City, Michigan on U.S. Highway 23.

History

The original sawmill at Mill Creek operated from about 1790 until 1839.^[2] It was originally built by Robert Campbell to supply lumber to the Straits of Mackinac, especially the frontier settlement of Mackinac Island. In 1793 it contracted with Fort Mackinac to make repairs on the soldiers' barracks. The Mill Creek sawmill enjoyed a dominant market share of the supply of cut timbers in the Straits of Mackinac during the fur trade era, and a millwright's house was built about 1820 near the sawmill to provide a place for the mill operator to live. In 1819, Michael Dousman purchased the mill site and continued to operate it. However, global demand for beaver fur declined in the 1830s, and following Dousman's death in 1839 the sawmill and millwright's house were abandoned.

After the sawmill's abandonment in 1839, the original sawmill complex buildings rotted and disappeared. However, timbers cut by the original mill survived in buildings on Mackinac Island (Mission Church and Mission House, built in the 1820s and still there today). Saw marks on these timbers could be used to reconstruct the mill machinery so as to closely resemble the original. The marks gave restoration experts information on the rake of the saw's teeth and the saw's operating speed. The wood is fed into the blade at 1/3 of an inch per stroke, and the infeed motion is powered by the pitman arm that powers the saw's vertical movement.

Archaeological investigations were conducted at the site of the sawmill in the 1970s.^[3] The dig site was variously called the "Filbert Site," the "Mill Creek Site," or the "Campbell Farm Site," and was designated 20cn8.

Mill Creek today

The creek dam and sawmill (c. 1790) were rebuilt in 1984; the sawmill was restored in part for the 2007 season. The British Workshop (c. 1820) was rebuilt around 1994 on the site of the original. The millwright's house (c. 1820) was rebuilt in 2005.

As of 2008, the park had 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of nature trails, with a small portion handicapped-accessible.

In summers, costumed interpreters use antique woodworking tools to make shingles, and demonstrate a variety of other tasks common in the 1820s, and demonstrate the operation of the sawpit and sawmill. A naturalist conducts talks on the animal and plant species of the nearby forested areas.

The North Central State Trail serves Historic Mill Creek State Park.

References

↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
1 2 "Campbell, Robert, Mill". Michigan State Housing Development Authority: Historic Sites Online. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
↑ Thomas B. Ford; Michigan Mackinac Island State Park Commission (1979), Archaeological Investigations at the Mill Creek (Filbert) Site, Michigan Coastal Management Program

External links

Protected areas of Michigan

See also: Important Bird Areas of Michigan

National

Parks	Isle Royale Keweenaw (Historical) River Raisin (Battlefield)

Lakeshores	Pictured Rocks Sleeping Bear Dunes

Landmarks	Black Spruce Bog Natural Area Dead Stream Swamp Dukes Research Natural Area Grand Mere Lakes Haven Hill State Natural Area Newton Woods Porcupine Mountains Roscommon Virgin Pine Stand Strangmoor Bog Tobico Marsh Toumey Woods Warren Woods State Park

Forests	Hiawatha Huron-Manistee Ottawa

Wildlife Refuges	Detroit River Harbor Island Huron Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area Michigan Islands Michigan Wetland Management District Seney Shiawassee

Other	Grand Island National Recreation Area Father Marquette National Memorial Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

State

Parks	Algonac Aloha Baraga Belle Isle Bewabic Brimley Burt Lake Cambridge Junction Cheboygan Clear Lake Coldwater Lake Craig Lake Dodge #4 Duck Lake Fayette Fisherman's Island Fort Michilimackinac Fort Wilkins Grand Haven Grand Mere Harrisville Hart-Montague Trail Hartwick Pines Hayes Mill Creek P.H. Hoeft P.J. Hoffmaster Holland Indian Lake Interlochen Kal-Haven Trail Lake Gogebic Lakelands Trail Lakeport Leelanau Ludington Mackinac Island Maybury F.J. McLain Mears Meridian-Baseline Mitchell Muskallonge Lake Muskegon Negwegon Newaygo North Higgins Lake Onaway Orchard Beach Otsego Lake Palms Book Petoskey Porcupine Mountains Port Crescent Rockport Sanilac Petroglyphs Saugatuck Dunes Seven Lakes Silver Lake Sleeper Sleepy Hollow South Higgins Lake Sterling Straits Tahquamenon Falls Tawas Point Thompson's Harbor Traverse City Twin Lakes Van Buren Van Buren Trail Van Riper Warren Dunes Warren Woods Wells White Pine Trail Wilderness William G. Milliken Wilson Young

Recreation Areas	Bald Mountain Bass River Bay City Brighton Fort Custer Highland Holly Ionia Island Lake Lake Hudson Menominee River Metamora-Hadley Ortonville Pinckney Pontiac Lake Proud Lake Rifle River Waterloo Wetzel Yankee Springs

Forests	Au Sable Copper Country Escanaba River Lake Superior Mackinaw Pere Marquette

Underwater Preserves	Alger De Tour Passage Grand Traverse Bay Keweenau Manitou Passage Marquette Sanilac Shores Southwest Michigan Straits of Mackinac Thumb Area Whitefish Point

Other (inc. game areas)	Agate Falls Scenic Site Allegan State Game Area Bond Falls Scenic Site Laughing Whitefish Falls Scenic Site Michigan Islands Wilderness Area Pointe Mouillee State Game Area Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center Sturgeon Point Scenic Site Wagner Falls Scenic Site

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

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