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Sault Ste Marie, Michigan

Sault Ste. Marie
City
City of Sault Ste. Marie
View of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, from the Canadian side of the river.
View of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, from the Canadian side of the river.
Flag of Sault Ste. Marie
Flag
Official seal of Sault Ste. Marie
Seal
Nickname(s): The Soo
Location of Sault Ste. Marie in Chippewa County and Michigan
Location of Sault Ste. Marie in Chippewa County and Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is located in the US
Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 46°29′49″N 84°20′44″W / 46.49694°N 84.34556°W / 46.49694; -84.34556Coordinates: 46°29′49″N 84°20′44″W / 46.49694°N 84.34556°W / 46.49694; -84.34556
Country United States
State Michigan
County Chippewa
Founded 1668
Incorporated 1879 (village)
Incorporated 1887 (city)
Government
 • Type Commission-Manager
 • Mayor Anthony Bosbous
 • City Manager Oliver Turner
Area
 • Total 20.16 sq mi (52.21 km2)
 • Land 14.77 sq mi (38.25 km2)
 • Water 5.39 sq mi (13.96 km2)  26.74%
Population (2010)
 • Total 14,144
 • Estimate (2012) 14,194
 • Density 957.6/sq mi (369.7/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Website saultcity.com

Sault Ste. Marie /ˌs snt məˈr/ is a city in, and the county seat of, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the northeastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canada–US border, and separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River. The city is relatively isolated from other communities in Michigan and is 346 miles from Detroit. The population was 14,144 at the 2010 census, making it the second most populous city in the Upper Peninsula. By contrast, the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie is much larger, with more than 75,000 residents, based on more extensive industry developed in the 20th century and an economy with closer connections to other communities.

Sault Ste. Marie had been settled by Native Americans more than 12,000 years ago and was a crossroads of fishing and trading of tribes around the Great Lakes. It developed as the first European settlement in the region that became the Midwestern United States, when, in 1668, Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit, learned of the Native American village and traveled there to found a Catholic mission. French colonists later established a fur trading post, which attracted trappers and Native Americans on a seasonal basis. Both Métis men and women were active in the trade and among the elite in the community. A fur-trading settlement quickly grew at the crossroads that straddled the banks of the river. It was the center of a trading route of 3,000 miles (4,800 km) that extended from Montreal to the Sault, and from the Sault to the country north of Lake Superior.


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