Editing Mackinaw City, Michigan (section)

===Mackinaw City from mid-19th century to present===
[[File:Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse 4572.jpg|thumb|right|Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse]]
[[File:McGulpin Point Light (July 2018).jpg|thumb|right|McGulpin Point Light]]
In 1857, two men by the names of Conkling and Searles planned what would become Mackinaw City. The original plan reserved the northern portion as a park, to preserve the area that was once Fort Michilimackinac and to accommodate a hoped-for [[lighthouse]]. This was not built for nearly a generation after the land was set aside.

During the second half of the 1800s, the Mackinaw area (and [[northern Michigan]] in general) saw an increase in summer resort tourism. In 1875, [[Mackinac National Park]] became the second National Park in the United States after [[Yellowstone National Park]] in the [[Rocky Mountains]].

[[Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse]] began operation in 1889 and the adjacent Fog Signal Building was built in 1906. This lighthouse, which operated until 1957, would eventually replace McGulpin Point Light, which operated between 1869 and 1906, at its location in the far western end of the village limits, with the current address of 500 Headlands Road.<ref>{{Cite web |date = January 10, 2022 |title = Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse |url = https://www.michigan.org/property/old-mackinac-point-lighthouse |access-date = November 5, 2022 |website = Pure Michigan |language = en }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title = McGulpin Point Lighthouse |url = https://www.emmetcounty.org/parks-recreation/mcgulpin-point-lighthouse/ |access-date = November 5, 2022 |website = Emmet County |language = en }}</ref>

The village became a vital port for [[train ferry|train ferries]] crossing the Straits beginning in the 1890s, and later, for ferries for [[automobiles]]. In the 1890s, Mackinaw had one newspaper, the ''Mackinaw Witness'', published weekly by Presbyterian missionary Rev. [[George Warren Wood|G. W. Wood, Jr.]]<ref>{{Cite book |last = Rowell |first = George |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vWQ3AQAAMAAJ&q=%22G+W+Wood%22+%22Sunday+School%22+michigan&pg=PA377 |title = Rowell's American Newspaper Directory |date = 1893 |publisher = Geo P. Rowell & Company |location = New York |page = 377 |quote = "Mackinaw City, Cheboygan County"... "WITNESS: Saturdays; four pages 16x22; subscription $1.50; established 1892; Rev. G. W. Wood, editor and publisher." |access-date = May 31, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last = Donaldson |first = W. H. |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JPkyAQAAMAAJ&q=%22G.+W.+Wood%22+editor&pg=PA167 |title = The Donaldson, Guide: Containing a List of All Opera-houses in the United States and Canada |date = 1894 |publisher = Donaldson |location = Cincinnati, OH |page = 167 |quote = "Newspaper – Witness, Rev. G.w. Wood, editor" |access-date = May 31, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last = Clark |first = C.F. |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5AcdAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Mackinaw+Witness%22+George+warren+wood&pg=PA1138 |title = Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory for 1897 (Volume 13) |date = 1897 |publisher = R.L Polk & Co. |location = Detroit |page = 1138 |quote = "[Mackinaw] has a weekly newspaper, The Mackinaw Witness" ... "George H. Wood, publr... Wood, Rev George W (Presbyterian) |access-date = May 10, 2016 }}</ref>

Auto ferries began running in the early 1900s. [[Camping]] began in [[Michilimackinac State Park]] in 1907.

When the Mackinac Bridge was completed in 1957, the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was decommissioned immediately thereafter. At the same time, a grant was provided to the [[Mackinac Island State Park Commission]], which owned the property at the Bridge's southern terminus, to begin archeological excavations of the Michilimackinac ruins. Ultimately, a reconstruction of the fort to its 1770s appearance would be constructed.<ref>{{Cite web |title = Mackinac State Historic Parks |url = http://www.mackinacparks.com/ |website = mackinacparks.com }}</ref>

Auto ferries, which had been running since the early 1900s, ended in 1957 after the completion of the [[Mackinac Bridge]].

Train ferries crossed the Straits until 1984. Mackinaw City remains an important port city for tourists traveling by passenger [[ferry boat]] to Mackinac Island using Shepler's ferry company, and Star Line services.

Through the course of time, the main industry of Mackinaw City became almost strictly tourist-oriented, with other major sources of employment being civic services such as mail, police, firefighting, schooling, and so on. [[Camping]], which began in Michilimackinac State Park in 1907, was halted in 1971 as a Maritime Park was opened in 1972 around the lighthouse. This park was shut down in 1990, but Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse was opened to the public in 2004. [[Historic Mill Creek State Park|Mill Creek State Park]], which includes the area believed to be where Mill Creek's [[sawmill]] once flourished when [[Mackinac Island]] was being settled, is located about five miles (8&nbsp;km) southeast of the village along [[U.S. Route 23 in Michigan|U.S. Highway 23]] (US&nbsp;23).