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By the mid 1 870s the small log church, first built at Michilimackinac and having survived two moves, was torn down. Parishioners replaced the simple log building with an imposing gothic structure that was more appropriate for the island’s evolving image as a celebrated summer resort. Since the end of the Civil War, Mackinac had been an increasingly popular “watering spot” for travelers, vacationers and health seekers. Federal authorities created Mackinac National Park on the island in 1875 and tourists packed north-bound steamboats and rail cars heading for Mackinac. The island’s changing character was reflected in the pews at Ste. Anne’s Church where summer tourists and curio merchants replaced the voyageurs and fur traders who worshipped on the same site fifty years earlier. The success of the elegant Grand Hotel, constructed in 1887, propelled Mackinac Island to new fame and fortune. The hotel attracted a stylish and aristocratic clientele who christened Mackinac “the most fashionable’ resort in the upper Great Lakes. Wealthy entrepreneurs from Chicago and Detroit, including the Cudahy brothers of meat-packing fame, constructed opulent “cottages” on the island’s cedar-lined bluffs overlooking the Straits of Mackinac. Parish leaders, deciding that their church was not in keeping with the island’s fashionable character, conducted a major restoration and redecoration project beginning in 1890. Father Antoine Rezek started tentatively by purchasing new vestments and church linens, but soon made bold suggestions about replacing cracked plaster and redesigning the sanctuary. With his ideas accepted, workmen stripped the church to its studs and rebuilt the walls to their current configuration. The project was not inexpensive, and the parish elected to sell the old cemetery in town for $800 and transfer interments to the new burial ground in the center of the island. West Bluff cottagers John and Michael Cudahy each donated three hundred dollars. With additional gifts from parishioners and visitors, Father Rezek was able to leave the island in 1891 with the project completely paid for. Father James Miller continued Rezek’s work by constructing the semicircular steps in front of the church and remodeling the steeple. Father Miller added the fresco wall decorations and commissioned E. Hackner, a renowned altar builder, to construct three elegant white and gold altars. With the addition of new stained glass windows in 1912, the church assumed the general appearance that would carry her through the twentieth century. The construction of basement in the mid 1950s provided the blessing of a parish hail but the curse of structural instability. The excavation had weakened the foundation and the side walls eventually began to sag while the plaster cracked. Perhaps it was the revenge of Madame Laframboise whose remains were removed from beneath the altar and reburied outside the church. Regardless, one hundred years after the 1 890’s stylishremodeling, the church was once again in need of substantial work. True to Mackinac Island’s ecumenical heritage, a committed group of individuals from several denominations raised over one million dollars from Catholics, Protestants and Jews, year-round residents, summer cottagers and day tourists. The 1990s restoration recaptures the 1890’s appearance. The project has been completed as the parish celebrates its tn-centennial anniversary. This celebration is linked to the parish’s earliest written records which date to 1695 and recalls the tremendous efforts of the Jesuit priests and brothers who first brought the message of Christianity to the shores of Mackinac. |
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Ste. Anne's
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