The Office (1858) was the administrative center of Fort Mackinac. Here the commandant and his officers issued daily orders, corresponded with the Secretary of War and other army officials in Washington and managed an unending list of construction and maintenance projects. Every two months the soldiers lined up outside Post Headquarters where the traveling paymaster set up a temporary office. One by one the men filed through the office, signed the payroll and received their payment. In the years following the Civil War, enlisted men earned between $13 and $34 per month while officers earned between $1,400 and $2,500 a year.
Today, visitors can use an interactive database in the office to explore the lives of Fort Mackinac’s soldiers, explore period settings and gallery spaces interpreting the training and duties of Fort Mackinac’s officers, and enjoy a gallery dedicated to Mackinac National Park, the United States’ second national park.
