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100 Years of Michigan State Parks
The 100th anniversary of Michigan state parks was celebrated all throughout 2019 with special events and news stories across the state park system. Do you know which one is considered Michigan’s first state park? According to an article on the Michigan DNR website:
“The answer depends on how you interpret the question and is not simple.
“The 2019 state parks centennial celebration is centered around the formation of the Michigan State Park Commission by the state Legislature on May 12, 1919. The commission was given responsibility for overseeing, acquiring and maintaining public lands and establishing Michigan’s state parks system.
“One of the state’s earliest purchases was the site
of Interlochen State Park in 1917. Although the land was purchased prior to 1919, Interlochen was the first public park to be transferred to the Michigan State Park Commission in 1920 and is considered Michigan’s first state park.
“However, many consider Mackinac Island as Michigan’s first state park, which is also true.
“Approximately 25 years before legislation established the state park commission, the federal government gifted the Mackinac Island property it owned to the state in 1895. The island was designated as Michigan’s first state park under the Mackinac State Park Commission.
“Because Mackinac Island is operated under the Mackinac State Park Commission and was not placed under the Michigan State Park Commission, there is more than one answer to the ‘first state park’ question.”
Interlochen State Park, located southwest of Traverse City, can be visited at Michigan.gov/Interlochen.
To learn more about Mackinac Island State Park, visit MackinacParks.com.
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