St. Ignace
St. Ignace
Pere Marquette established in 1671 the
Mission of St. Ignace. French troops soon after built
Fort Buade. The state's second oldest white village guarded the Straits while serving as the most important French fur post in the northwest. By 1706 both the fort and mission where abandoned. Only in the 19th century did lumbering and fishing revive the town.