The Mackinac Bridge connecting Michigan’s lower and upper peninsulas serves as a modern-day time machine carrying travelers to the Upper Peninsula (UP), a land that epitomizes an America of the 1950s and 1960s. We mean this in the best sense.

The towns of the UP are small, the shops and restaurants are family-owned, and most motels are of the mom-and-pop variety. The residents are friendly and seem pleased you have made the effort to visit this isolated section of Michigan where they have chosen to live.

While crossing north on the Mackinac Bridge may turn back the clock by several decades, a stop just prior to accessing the bridge’s south entrance can turn back time by several centuries. At least, it did for the two of us during a fall trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

We spent a morning near the south terminus of the Mackinac Bridge to explore Colonial Michilimackinac, part of Michilimackinac State Historic Parks. What an enjoyable morning!

Colonial Michilimackinac is a reproduction of a French fort constructed in 1715 on the Straits of Mackinac, a location that had long served as an important fur-trading center for French-Canadian voyageurs and Native Americans. Following the French and Indian War in 1761, the British took possession of the fort, which remained a central location for trading furs for goods from the east.

Around 1780, the British, fearful of attack by American rebels, constructed Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island and moved the community, including most of Fort Michilimackinac’s buildings, to the island. What wasn’t moved was burned. The new Fort Mackinac was taken by the Americans in 1796 and recaptured by the British in the War of 1812. Following the war, the fort was returned to the Americans, who used it until 1895.

The reconstruction of Fort Michilimackinac on its original grounds was begun in 1933. Today, the fort consists of 16 buildings including a church, commanding officer’s house, soldiers’ barracks, king’s storehouse and blacksmith shop inside a wooden palisade. The buildings, all of which are open to the public, house exhibits or are furnished in the period of the mid-1700’s.

The fort is operated as a living history museum that includes demonstrations by costumed interpreters. The blacksmith can be found working at his trade while British soldiers, when not participating in firing a musket or cannon, man the guardhouse. Interpreters representing colonial women are likely to be cooking or baking, working in the garden, or tending the fireplace. A film about the 1763 capture of Fort Mackinac is shown at a theater inside the fort.

The fort grounds include a recreated Native American encampment immediately outside the palisade. Nearby, a French voyageur has set up camp on the bank of the Straits of Mackinac with a display of his trade goods. The visitor center includes exhibits, a 13-minute introductory film, and a gift shop.

Since 1959, an on-going professional archaeological excavation has been taking place at the fort site during summer months. Archaeologists were excited in 2015 to discover a complete rosary. This and other items unearthed at the site are on display in the fort.

Nearby, the 1889 Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse includes the restored keeper’s quarters with exhibits including hands-on displays and original artifacts. Tours of the lighthouse tower are offered. The lighthouse remained in operation until completion of the Mackinac Bridge.

Colonial Michilimackinac is open from the first week in May through the first week in October. Entrance to the fort grounds is $12 for adults and $7 for children ages 5-12. Entry to the lighthouse requires a separate fee, or a combination ticket for both areas is available for $18 for adults and $10.50 for ages 5-12.