St. Clair is a city in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,802 at the 2000 census with a projection of 5,917 in 2006. The city is located near the southeast corner of St. Clair Township.

Geography

• According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.9 kmē), of which, 2.8 square miles (7.2 kmē) of it is land and 0.6 square miles (1.7 kmē) of it (19.01%) is water. The city is located along the St. Clair River.
• It lies in the Thumb of Michigan, which in turn is a subregion of Flint/Tri-Cities.
  • Saint Clair can also be considered as in the Blue Water area, a subregion of the Thumb.
• The City of St. Clair has much upscale housing along the St. Clair River. The Saint Clair area attracts many tourists from Metro Detroit. The city has a small town feeling, with a downtown, parks, a marina and boasts the longest freshwater boardwalk in the world.

Naming

Being situated on the western banks of the St. Clair River, the city's name is taken from the river, which in turn was named for Lake Saint Clair. 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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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. 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.

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.^[3]

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,802 people, 2,322 households, and 1,613 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,093.7 per square mile (808.7/kmē). There were 2,432 housing units at an average density of 877.6/sq mi (339.0/kmē). The racial makeup of the city was 96.4% White, 0.12% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 1.00% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.

There were 2,322 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $52,957, and the median income for a family was $61,743. Males had a median income of $50,509 versus $28,224 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,180. About 3.3% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.

Recurring Local Events

• Blue Water Ramble (St. Clair, Michigan) Annual International Bicycling Event, first weekend in October.^[4]
• Annual St. Clair Art Fair is a two day event in the last weekend in June.^[5]

Commercial activiites

• Cargill operates an Alberger process salt extraction plant in the city. It is the only plant of its kind in the United States.

Notes

Further reading

External links

• History of St. Clair

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