New MSHP Hospital Exhibit To Be Built With $133,550 Grant

Fort Mackinac visitors soon will learn about the physicians who practiced medicine here. The new fort hospital exhibit will feature authentic tools used by fort physcians and will give visitors an idea on what medical practice was like in the 19th century. (Photograph courtesy of Mackinac State Historic Parks)

A new exhibit on military medicine is scheduled to open in 2006 at Fort Mackinac, funded with a $133,550 grant, the largest of three awarded in Michigan by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Steve Brisson, chief curator at Mackinac State Historic Parks, said a strategy team has just been assembled to gather and implement the many suggested features for the exhibit, titled “Military Medicine at Mackinac.” Construction will begin next year.

The exhibit will feature original objects from the fort and utilize the newest exhibit technology to focus on mid-19th century medicine. Interactive displays and a special children’s section will further the agency’s goal of creating memorable experiences for guests at Fort Mackinac.

The new exhibit will be an extension of the State Parks’ William Beaumont Museum on Market Street, part of the State Parks’ Historic Downtown tour on Mackinac Island, that will focus on the history and concepts of medical practice in the 19th century.

“Our guests want to learn more about 19th century medicine,” said Mr. Brisson. “Fort Mackinac, with several prominent post physicians, including Dr. William Beaumont, and well documented advances in medical treatment, is a rich place to explore the topic.”

Dr. Beaumont served as post surgeon at the fort in the early 1800s. He made medical discoveries in the human digestive system, studying an open but healed gunshot wound to the stomach of 19-year old French-Canadian voyageur Alexis St. Martin.

The new exhibit will highlight Dr. Beaumont and his studies and will feature other physicians stationed at Fort Mackinac.