Fort Wilkens, Cooper Harbor, Mi

Fort Wilkins Historic State Park features a beautifully restored 1844 military outpost and one of the first lighthouses on Lake Superior. The troops stationed there were intended to help with local law enforcement and to keep the peace between miners and the local Ojibwa indians.  The fort was only in commission for two years; after that it was used for a tourist retreat for several years until it was given to the state for a park. It reopened briefly as a fort in the late 1860's. 

The enlisted married men's quarter were outside the fort walls. What kind of message does that send?

The commons square

The rear of the Officer's quarters

Inside the bake shop

Making bread

Note the huge bellows in the blacksmith shop

Blacksmith items

The front of the mess hall

Where's the grub? Mess hall

Barracks

Barracks

Orderly's room

Store at fort

I need a smoke. Any one have a match?

Quartermaster stores

The fort sits on a nice lake