As the French began to inhabit the area, the Jesuit missionaries followed. Father Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit priest, came to the Straits of Mackinac and built a chapel; the area became known as St. Ignace, named after St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of priests.
Father Marquette served at the chapel until 1673; he left to join Loius Joliet in the exploration of the Mississippi River. He became ill and died on his way back to St. Ignace; he was buried at what is now known as Ludington, MI. A couple of years later, a party of Odawa Indians found his remains and buried them under the chapel. The site is now the location of the Marquette Mission Park and Museum of Ojibwa Culture in St. Ignace.
The museum and park portray life 300 years ago when the Indians inhabited the area.