Early Missionary Bark Chapel

Early Missionary Bark Chapel is a Michigan historical marker in Mackinac Island, Mackinac County, dedicated 1959.

Mackinac County · dedicated 1959 · Fort Street, Mackinac Island

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

According to descriptions by Jesuit missionaries, the bark chapels which they built among the Indians of the Great Lakes looked like this. In such primitive huts, far from civilization, the courageous French “blackrobes” lived and sought to turn the minds of the savages to Christianity. One of this illustrious company, Father Claude Dablon, from the mission of Sault Ste. Marie, and later superior general of the Jesuits in Canada, wintered on Mackinac Island in 1670-71 and carried on missionary work here. It is to the memory of these heroic pioneer priests that this reconstruction of a bark chapel is dedicated.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: Michigan History Center
TreeAlive is an independent project. The State of Michigan and the Michigan History Center are not responsible for maintaining the information on this site.

More markers nearby

American Fur Company Store / American Fur Company Storeunder 1 mi
Trinity Churchunder 1 mi
Indian Dormitory / Henry R. Schoolcraftunder 1 mi
Treaty of Washington of 1836/The Indian Agencyunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Geary, Mathew, House290 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.