The specific recommendations, artifact usage, and exhibit layout were based upon current scholarship and established practices garnered from visits to a variety of institutions locally, regionally, and internationally. Research for the exhibit proposal was completed by the Public History Field School students at the Public Museum of Grand Rapids, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, Ontario, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, and the McCord Museum in Montreal, Quebec. The students traveled over 1800 miles in a period of eight days.

The following is a selection of photos from the 2001 Public History Field School.

Fort Michilimackinac and the surrounding Straits of Mackinac served a vital economic and military position for the French. As a result of its location along the Straits, where Lake Michigan and Huron connect, the French gained vital control of waterways to the east and the south, to areas such as Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, routes to the lower Great Lakes regions such as Detroit, and waterways to the west such as Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River region.

Montreal played a vital role in the fur trade industry. Key reasons include its geographic location, a strong French cultural presence, and its status as a diplomatic center. Founded in 1642, Montreal is located at the meeting point of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. These two waterways were the key highways into the interior. The Ottawa led to the north and the St. Lawrence led westward into the Great Lakes. Montreal become the site where furs carried from the interior via canoe were stored in vast warehouses to await transport to France in ships. Montreal's location also allowed it considerable control. All traffic to and from the interior passed Montreal.