French Michilimackinac Research Project

The French Michilimackinac Research Project collects and translates French language materials related to the history of the Straits of Mackinac region. The FMRP is funded by Mackinac State Historic Parks and various private and federal agencies. To date the FMRP has amassed an almost unparalleled collection of microfilm and photocopied materials related to the French presence in North America. For more information about the FMRP, visit the Mackinac Parks site.

The bulk of the collection covers the history and ethnohistory of Northeastern North America to about 1783 and includes over 470 reels of microfilm and dozens more volumes of material in microfiche. The documents are drawn from archives in France (Archives nationales, Series B, C11A, C11E, F3-Moreau de Saint-Méry, etc.), National Archives of Canada (transcripts of most of the above materials), and Quebec archives (notarial records, Montreal fur trade records, etc.).

The collection is housed at the Western Michigan University Regional Archives. Information on the inventory of the collection is available through the French Michilimackinac Research Project Collection Inventory.

Endowment Support for the FMRP Collection:

The Joseph L. Peyser Endowment for the Study of New France offers support for scholars to travel to WMU to consult the FMRP collection. 

For more information, contact:

Dr. Sally Hadden, Chair, Joseph L. Peyser Endowment Committee
Department of History
Western Michigan University
1903 West Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5334