Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

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Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Official flag of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Flag		 Official seal of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Seal
Nickname: "The Soo"
Location of Sault Ste. Marie within Chippewa County, Michigan.
Location of Sault Ste. Marie within Chippewa County, Michigan.
Country United States
State Michigan
County Chippewa
Sault Ste. Marie 1668
Government
 - Mayor Anthony Bosbous
Area
 - City  20.2 sq mi (52.3 km²)
 - Land  14.8 sq mi (38.4 km²)
 - Water  5.4 sq mi (13.9 km²)
Population (2005)
 - City 14,318
 - Density 708.8/sq mi (273.8/km²)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Website: sault-sainte-marie.mi.us
For other uses, see Sault Ste. Marie.

Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced [ˈsuː ˈseɪnt məˈriː]) is the oldest city in the state of Michigan. It is located at the eastern edge of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario - the oldest city in the Canadian province of Ontario - by the St. Mary's River.

As of a 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city's population was 14,318. It is the county seat of Chippewa County6.

The city is the site of the Soo Locks, which lets ships travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes. Although not as busy as in past years, a considerable amount of domestic and foreign commerce passes through the locks. People come from around the world to view close up the ships passing through the locks. The largest ships are 1,000 feet long by 105 feet wide. Those large ships are domestic carriers (called lakers) that are too large to transit the Welland Canal around Niagara Falls. Therefore, they are land-locked. Foreign ships (termed salties) are smaller.

Sault Ste. Marie is home to Lake Superior State University, founded in 1946 as an extension campus of Michigan Mining and Technological College (now, Michigan Technological University).

Tourism is a major industry in what is usually referred to as the Soo. The locks and nearby casinos are the major draws, as well as the forests, inland lakes and Lake Superior shoreline. It is also a gateway to Lake Superior's scenic north shore through its twin city Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The two cities are connected by the large Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, a steel truss arch bridge with suspended deck passing over the St. Mary's River.

Ojibwa (Chippewa) Native Americans had lived in the area, which they referred to as Baawitigong, for centuries, since it provided an excellent place to catch fish. In 1668, French missionaries Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette founded a mission, making the Sault the third oldest city in the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains. The falls proved a choke point for shipping. Early Lake Superior ships were hauled around the rapids, much like moving a house, a process which could take weeks. Later cargoes were unloaded and hauled around the rapids and loaded onto other waiting boats. The first American locks were built in 1855.

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[edit] Meaning of the name

The city name originates from "Saults de Sainte-Marie," Etymologically, the word "sault" comes from an archaic spelling of "saut", the French word for "leap" or "jump", although there are citations dating back to 1600 for the use of the "sault" spelling to mean a waterfall or rapids.

In modern French, however, the words "chutes" or "rapides" are more usual, and "sault" survives almost exclusively in geographic names dating from the 17th century. (See also Long Sault, Ontario and Grand Falls/Grand-Sault, New Brunswick, two other place names where "sault" also carries this meaning.)

[edit] Transportation

The city is the northern terminus of Interstate 75, which connects with the Mackinac Bridge at St. Ignace 52 miles to the south, and continues south to Miami, Florida. M-129 also has its northern terminus in the city. M-129 was at one time a part of the Dixie Highway system which was intended to connect the northern industrial states with the southern agricultural states. Until 1984 the city was the eastern terminus of the western segment of US 2. The city is served by the Chippewa County International Airport.

Sault Ste. Marie is the namesake of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway, now the Soo Line Railroad, the U.S. arm of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

[edit] Geography and climate

The city is located at Latitude: 46.49 N, Longitude: 84.35 W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.2 square miles (52.3 km²)—14.8 square miles (38.4 km²) of it is land and 5.4 square miles (13.9 km²) of it (26.63%) is water.

Sault Ste. Marie is among the snowiest locations in Michigan receiving an average of 128 inches of snow a year with a record year where 209 inches fell. 62 inches of snow fell in one five-day snowstorm, including 28 inches in 24 hours, in December 1995. Sault Ste. Marie receives an average annual 34 inches of precipitation measured as equivalent rainfall.

Temperatures in Sault Ste. Marie have varied between a record low of -36° F and a record high of 98° F. Monthly average high temperatures range from a low of 13° F in January to a high of 64° F in July.[1] In an average year, only one or two days reach 90° F while 180 days fall below 32° F.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 45 49 75 85 89 93 97 98 95 81 67 62
Norm High °F 21.5 24.5 33.6 48 63.2 70.7 75.7 74.1 64.8 52.8 38.9 27.2
Norm Low °F 4.9 6.6 16.1 28.8 39.3 46.5 52 52.4 44.8 36 25.9 13.1
Rec Low °F -36 -35 -24 -2 18 26 36 29 25 16 -10 -31
Precip (in) 2.64 1.6 2.41 2.57 2.5 3 3.14 3.47 3.71 3.32 3.4 2.91
Source: USTravelWeather.com [2]

[edit] Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there were 16,542 people, 5,742 households, and 3,301 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,116.3 people per square mile (431.0/km²). There were 6,237 housing units at an average density of 420.9 per square mile (162.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.99% White, 6.51% African American, 13.72% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 4.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population.

There were 5,742 households out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.4% under the age of 18, 18.1% from 18 to 24, 31.9% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 122.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 128.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,652, and the median income for a family was $40,333. Males had a median income of $29,656 versus $21,889 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,460. About 12.7% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Media

[edit] TV

For stations licensed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, see that city's article.

All stations listed here are rebroadcasters of television stations based in Traverse City and Cadillac.

  • Channel 8: WGTQ, ABC (rebroadcasts WGTU)
  • Channel 10: WWUP, CBS (rebroadcasts WWTV)
  • Channel 61: W61CR, Fox (rebroadcasts WFQX)
  • Channel 67: W67CS, 3ABN (all programming via satellite)

NBC is served by WTOM channel 4 from Cheboygan, which repeats WPBN.

The area has no local PBS service over-the-air; on Charter's cable system, WNMU-TV from Marquette offers PBS programming.

None of these stations are seen on cable in the Canadian Soo, as Shaw cable opted for Detroit and Rochester channels, instead.

[edit] Radio

For stations licensed to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, see that city's article.

[edit] Print

The city's main daily newspaper is the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News, or more commonly referred to as the Sault Evening News.

[edit] External links

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