MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. – Tree samples of a Mackinac home have revealed that a house on the Michigan island was built in 1790.
The McGulpin House, located at Fort and Market Streets, has been reported as one of the oldest residential structures on Mackinac Island. The Great Lakes Dendrochronology collected 38 tree samples from the house and the Officers’ Stone Quarters, located right outside Fort Mackinac.
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The house made out of pine has tree rings that indicate that the timber used as the house’s foundation is from 1790. The Mackinac Associates stated that there are rings that indicate years before 1790, but the house would’ve been constructed on the island since the latest rings date back to 1790.
Michigan’s DNR was able to provide context of when the house was built due to core samples taken from the timber within the McGulpin House.
“Many of the core samples from the McGulpin House contained the outermost ring of growth with bark potentially remaining on several timbers. This provided an undated chronology. This undated chronology was compared to five regional dated chronologies,” said Steve Brisson from the DNR. “The regional master chronology resulting from dendroarchaeological work on nearby Beaver Island provided the best match. The two chronologies matched up, thus showing that the timbers used to build McGulpin House were cut in the summer of 1790. "
This home is currently preserved as an architectural artifact and will be open for the 2023 season on June 3.
“It is exciting to monitor the process of this scientific research,” said Mackinac State Historic Parks Director Steve Brisson. “We are thrilled that the data was available to get a conclusive date on the McGulpin House.”