British commander Patrick Sinclair moved Fort Michilimackinac from the mainland, now Mackinaw City, to this spot in 1780 during the American Revolution. He chose Mackinac Island because its high limestone bluff would protect his soldiers from an American attack. Fort Mackinac remained an active military post until United States soldiers left in 1895. Its buildings are original, constructed by the soldiers who lived and worked there, and the Officers' Stone Quarters, built more than 200 years ago during the American Revolution, is one of Michigan's oldest buildings.