Voyage of Exploration

Voyage of Exploration. . , Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit priest, established a mission called St. Ignace here in 1671. , , In May of 1673, Marquette, Louis Jolliet and 5 other Frenchmen left St. Ignace in 2 canoes on an expedition to find the river known as the "father of waters" in Indian stories. , , Their goals were to discover if this river was a passage to the Pacific, to claim lands for the French Crown and to bring Christianity to the Indians. , , The explorers turned back when they realized that the river flowed to the Gulf of Mexico because they feared a hostile reception by the Spaniards who occupied the South. , , For Marquette, the journey of nearly 4,000 miles was filled with hardship and illness. He died near the present site of Ludington, along the river we call the "Pere Marquette," exactly 2 years and 1 day after starting the expedition. , , Marquette's remains are presumed to have been returned to St. Ignace at a later date. To learn more about this explorer and his times, please visit the Marquette Among The Hurons Park and Gravesite, to your left across State Street.