thumb|right|250px|Location of Fort Holmes on the island
thumb|left|Stairway up to Fort Holmes, the highest point on Mackinac Island
Fort Holmes is a fortified earthen redoubt located on the highest point of Mackinac Island. Originally built in 1814 by British forces during the War of 1812, the redoubt was improved by that army throughout the course of the war (1812–1814) to help defend the adjacent Fort Mackinac from a possible attack by the U.S. Army.
The British named the redoubt Fort George and reinforced it with cannon, a blockhouse, and a magazine for gunpowder and other munitions. However, Fort Holmes never functioned as an independent military fortification. It was always a dependent outpost of nearby Fort Mackinac. , however, most of the reconstructed buildings of Fort Holmes had again disappeared, except for the redoubt's earthen walls. The blockhouse includes interpretive panels inside, and is open in the summer. Many visitors come to the fort site for a view of the Straits of Mackinac, much of which is visible from this lookout point approximately above the surface of Lake Huron and 890 feet (271 m) above sea level. The redoubt and blockhouse can be rented for special occasions.
See also
- Brian Leigh Dunnigan, Fort Holmes [Reports in Mackinac History and Archeology: No. 10] (Mackinac State Historic Parks, Mackinaw City, Mich.) [https://web.archive.org/web/20080114193012/http://www.mackinacparks.com/books/books--museum-publications_113/fort-holmes_141/].