On June 6, 1822, Alexis St. Martin (1804-1880), a French Canadian voyageur, was accidentally shot in the American Fur Company Store located on this site. Dr. William Beaumont (1786-1853), the Fort Mackinac post surgeon, nursed St. Martin back to health. St. Martin's wound healed leaving a permanent opening into his stomach. Through this opening Beaumont compared the digestibility of foods, recorded the temperature conditions, and extracted and analyzed gastric juice. Beaumont conducted the first of 250 experiments with St. Martin in 1825 in the Officers' Stone Quarters at Fort Mackinac. Eight years later he published a groundbreaking book on his discovery of the digestive process.
[ Dedication Plaque: ]
This building is dedicated
to the memory of
William Beaumont, M.D.It was restored by volunteer contributions of Michigan Doctors of Medicine and presented to the people of Michigan.
On this site, on June 6, 1822, Alexis St. Martin, a French Canadian voyageur, suffered an accidental gunshot wound which left a permanent opening into his stomach through which Dr. William Beaumont was able to study stomach physiology. Thus was laid the foundation of knowledge of digestion.
The vision and understanding of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission under the chairmanship of W.F. Doyle, and the generous cooperation of the Parke Davis & Company are gratefully acknowledged.
July 17, 1954
Michigan State Medical Society
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