St. Clair County, Michigan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St. Clair County, Michigan | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of Michigan |
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 Michigan's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | March 28, 1820 [1] |
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| Seat | Port Huron |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
837 sq mi (2,168 km²) 724 sq mi (1,875 km²) 112 sq mi (290 km²), 13.42% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
164,235 228/sq mi (88/km²) |
| Website: www.stclaircounty.org | |
St. Clair County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 164,235, with the 2007 Census Bureau estimate placing the population at 170,119. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, it forms part of the Metro Detroit area, but geographicaly, it lies in the Thumb area of Micihigan. The county seat is Port Huron.[1] The county was created 10 September 1820 and its government was organized in 1821.
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[edit] Naming
Being situated on the western shores of Lake Saint Clair, the county's name is taken from the lake. An expedition led by the French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle named it Lac Sainte-Claire, because they entered the lake on August 12, 1679, the feast day of Saint Clare of Assisi.[2][3] The lake is named on English maps as early as 1710 as Saint Clare. But as early as the Mitchell Map in 1755, the spelling is presented with the current spelling as St. Clair.[4] The name is sometimes attributed as honoring the American Revolutionary War General and Governor of the Northwest Territory Arthur St. Clair, but the name was in use with the current spelling long before St. Clair was a notable figure.[5] However it is possible that earlier name of the lake was conflated with that of the general in naming some of the political entities near the lake and the river, such as St. Clair County, St. Clair Township, and the cities of St. Clair and St. Clair Shores. See also, List of Michigan county name etymologies.
The origin of the name has also been confused with that Patrick Sinclair, a British officer who purchased land on the St. Clair River at the outlet of the Pine River. There, in 1764, he built Fort Sinclair, which was in use for nearly twenty years before being abandoned.[6]
[edit] Geography
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 837 square miles (2,167 km²), of which, 724 square miles (1,876 km²) of it is land and 112 square miles (291 km²) of it (13.42%) is water. St. Clair County is one of five counties that form the peninsula that projects into Lake Huron known as the Thumb St. Clair County is very economically attached to its neighbors, Metropolitan Detroit, Sanilac County, and Lambton County in Ontario, Canada.
- It is considered to be part of the Thumb of Michigan; however, while the Thumb is a subregion of the Flint/Tri-Cities region, St. Clair County is within the Southeast Michigan region.
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Sanilac County (north)
- Lapeer County (west)
- Macomb County (south)
- Lambton County, Ontario (east)
- Across Lake St. Clair lies Chatham-Kent, Ontario (southeast)
[edit] Major highways
[edit] Interstates
I-69 begins at the Blue Water Bridge, proceeds west through Flint, then Lansing, and then turns south to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
I-94 is the only pure east-west U.S. interstate that has a terminus in a foreign country.[7] It has its eastern terminus at the U.S. side of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, at the Sarnia, Ontario, Canada border, where together with I-69 it meets 
Highway 402.
I-69 Business Loop.
I-94 Business Loop.
[edit] Michigan Highways
M-19
M-25 follows the Lake Huron/Saginaw Bay shoreline, starting in Bay City and ending in Marysville, just south of Port Huron.
M-29
M-136
M-154
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 164,235 people, 62,072 households, and 44,629 families residing in the county. The population density was 227 people per square mile (88/km²). There were 67,107 housing units at an average density of 93 per square mile (36/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.96% White, 2.10% Black or African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. 2.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.8% were of German, 10.1% Polish, 9.9% Irish, 8.8% English, 7.6% American, 5.7% French and 5.2% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.3% spoke only English at home, while 1.4% spoke Spanish.
There were 62,072 households out of which 34.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,313, and the median income for a family was $54,450. Males had a median income of $42,572 versus $25,880 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,582. About 5.80% of families and 7.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.30% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.
By 2006 the population had risen to 171,725. The 2005 estimates showed 93.3% of the county population was non-Hispanic whites. The percentage of African-AMericans had ebbed up to 2.2%. Asians were now tied with Native Americans at 0.5%. Latinos were now 2.6% of the county population. [9]
[edit] Government
The county government operates the jail, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains vital records, administers public health regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The county board of commissioners controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions — police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. — are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.
[edit] St.Clair County elected officials
- Prosecuting Attorney: Michael D. Wendling
- Sheriff: Dan Lane
- County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Marilyn Dunn
- County Treasurer: Kelly M. Roberts-Burnett
- Drain Commissioner: Fred Fuller
- County Surveyor: Steve Bruen
(information as of September 2005)
[edit] Cities, villages, and townships
[edit] Unincorporated communities and Census designated places
- Allenton, unincorporated community
- Anchorville, unincorporated community
- Avoca, unincorporated community
- Pearl Beach, CDP
- Smiths Creek, unincorporated community
- Sparlingville, Michigan, unincorporated community
[edit] Notes
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Jenks, p. 22
- ^ Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography on St. Clair County
- ^ Jenks, pp. 23-24
- ^ Michigan County Names
- ^ Fuller, pp. 21-22
- ^ Michigan highway ends, photos and text
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ St. Clair County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
[edit] References
- Fuller, George Newman [1926?] (2005). "Indians and Explorations", Local history and personal sketches of St. Clair and Shiawassee counties. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Library, pp. 17-27. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
- Jenks, William Lee [1912] (2005). "Origin of Name", St. Clair County, Michigan, its history and its people. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Library, pp. 20-24. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
[edit] External links
- St. Clair County
- Info and photos of historic bridges in St. Clair County
- Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography on St. Clair County
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