Fort Michilimackinac, in Mackinaw, Michigan was built by the French on the south shore of the Straits of Mackinac in approximately 1715. The fort was not built primarily as a military facility but as a link in the French trade system, which extended from Montreal through the Great Lakes region and northwest to Lake Winnipeg and beyond. Overlooking the Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, the fort served as a supply post for French traders.
