Welcome to the Martin Petersen Fund for Historical Writing web site.

This site provides information on a Mackinac Island Community Foundation fund established in 1999 by a grant from Dr. Eugene T. Petersen, former Director of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, and his wife Marian.

The award seeks to honor
Dr. Petersen’s grandfather, Martin, who maintained a lifelong layman’s interest in the study of history and historical writing, and who, from a very early age, encouraged Dr. Petersen and other young people to follow their career goals in the field of historical writing and study. For more information on Martin Petersen's life, click here.

In keeping with policies of the Mackinac Island Community Foundation and the wishes of Dr. and Mrs. Petersen, this fund will make grants from time to time recognizing authors whose historical writing as proposed or submitted to a selection committee of the Fund demonstrates qualities outlined in the fund's guidelines.

For more information, check out the Guidelines page. If you are interested in applying for a Martin Petersen Fund for Historic Writing grant, please consult the Submit page of the web site.

Grantees of past awards are featured on the Recipients page.

If you would like to help achieve the goal of encouraging the study of history and historical writing by contributing to the fund, please contact the Mackinac Island Community Foundation. In addition to being fully tax deductible, gifts to the fund are eligible for the Michigan tax credit of 50% of the gift.

We wish to give a special thanks to Robert E. Benjamin for allowing us to use his historic Mackinac postcards to enhance our web pages. Read more about the postcards by clicking on Site Images.

Thank you for your interest in the Martin Petersen Fund for Historic Writing.