Row Houses

On the right side, the farther house is the Piquet House; the nearer one is labeled British Trader's House. They call the farther building on the left the Priest's House. These names have historical justification, though they are simplifications of a complicated reality.

Colonial Michilimackinac, on the Mackinac Straits, is a reconstruction of a walled village which was originally built by French traders around 1715. The complex was occupied by the British Army in 1761, who coexisted with the traders. The British destroyed the fort in the early 1780s, deeming it indefensible, moving the buildings and residents to Mackinac Island.

The reconstruction's based on archeological research which occurs at the site every summer, so the building locations can be assumed to be accurate; so, for the same reason, are the room arrangements. I'm pretty sure the buildings themselves are, at best, educated guesses, as are their specific contents.

It's a neat place, even if I take the details with a grain of salt. The historical displays and knowledgable costumed staff make it among the best museums I know, and the archeologists seem to consider talking with the tourists to be part of their job. I've been visiting it occasionally nearly as long as I can remember.