Father Marquette National Memorial

Father Marquette National Memorial IUCN Category V - Protected Landscape / Seascape
location	St. Ignace , Michigan, USA
surface	0.21 km²
Geographical location	45 ° 51 '  N , 84 ° 43'  W Coordinates: 45 ° 51 '6 "  N , 84 ° 43' 2"  W.
Setup date	20th December 1975
administration	Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The Father Marquette National Memorial honors the life and work of Jacques Marquette , a French priest and explorer. The monument is located in the Straits State Park in St. Ignace in Michigan , where he in 1671 a Jesuit - mission founded and was buried 1678th The attached building of the Father Marquette Museum was destroyed by fire on March 9, 2000.

Father Marquette

Father Jacques Marquette

Marquette arrived in New France in 1666 . He established Michigan's first European settlements in Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace near Mackinac Island in 1668 and 1671. From 1666 until his death in 1675 he lived among the Indians of the Great Lakes Region . During these 9 years he learned several Indian languages. Together with Louis Joliet , he went to look for a navigable route to the Pacific , where they discovered the Mississippi .

On their expedition, Marquette and Joliet explored the Fox River , the Mississippi to Arkansas , the Illinois River and the Chicago River . Due to hostilities from the locals and fear of confrontation with the Spanish colonists, they did not advance to the mouth of the Mississippi.

In October 1674, Marquette and two companions set out on a missionary expedition. At the end of the year he had dysentery . He died near Ludington on his way back to St. Ignace. Father Marquette's tomb is located in downtown St. Ignace near the Ojibway Indian Museum on State Street.

Today's site

Since the museum was destroyed, the memorial site has included exhibitions and an educational trail with 15 stations.

Administrative history

The 210,000 square foot memorial is owned and administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources . It is an affiliated area of ​​the National Park Service . The National Memorial was approved on December 20, 1975. Unlike most National Memorials, it is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places .

Individual evidence

• The National Parks: Index 2001-2003 . Washington: United States Department of the Interior .

Web links

• State of Michigan: Father Marquette National Memorial
• National Park Service: Description of the Father Marquette National Memorial
• Collections Canada: Marquette and Joliet , as of 2001