St. Ignace, Michigan

St. Ignace, Michigan
—  City  —
Location of St. Ignace, Michigan
Coordinates: 45°51′57″N 84°43′33″W
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Mackinac
Area
• Total	2.7 sq mi (7.0 km2)
• Land	2.7 sq mi (7.0 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	587 ft (179 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	2,678
• Density	990.7/sq mi (382.5/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
FIPS code	26-70840
GNIS feature ID	1621477

Saint Ignace, usually written as St. Ignace, is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,678. It is the county seat of Mackinac County. From the Lower Peninsula, St. Ignace is the gateway to the Upper Peninsula.

St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but is politically independent.

Located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, St. Ignace is at northern end of the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinaw City is to its south. The bridge connects the Lower and the Upper Peninsulas of Michigan.

History

The Museum of Ojibwa Culture at the site of a Wyandot (Huron) village, as well as the St. Ignace Mission; the mission is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Further information: Jesuit missions in North America

St. Ignace is one of the oldest cities founded by Europeans in Michigan. Before French contact, Native Americans had inhabited the area for centuries. Historic peoples here were the Iroquoian-speaking Wendat, whom the French called the Huron and, dominating the area by the 18th century, the Anishinaabe Ojibwe.

French explorer and priest Jacques Marquette founded the St. Ignace Mission on this site in 1671 and was buried there after his death. He named it for St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order. (Ignace is the French version of Ignatius.) Jesuits worked at the missions to convert First Nations/Native Americans to Catholicism and share French culture.

A tombstone marks the grave of Father Marquette, next to the Museum of Ojibwayu Culture at the former site of St. Ignace Mission.

While exploring the region on the ship Le Griffon with Louis Hennepin, La Salle reached St. Ignace on August 27, 1679. The Jesuits abandoned the mission in 1705. The Ojibwe, who came to dominate most of the territory of present-day Michigan in the 18th century among Native Americans, were allies of the French in the Seven Years War.

After the English victory in the Seven Years War, in 1763 they took over this territory of the former New France. After the victory of rebellious colonists in the American Revolutionary War, in 1783 the village became part of the new United States, as part of its territory. Originally an important fur trading site in early years of French colonization, St. Ignace declined in importance by the early 19th century with changes in ruling classes and the regional economy.

The Americans and British-Canadians operated a larger trading center at Sault Ste. Marie, on both sides of the northern border, until the decline of the fur trade in the 1830s. The fur trade was severely reduced before and during hostilities of the War of 1812, as the United States prohibited British traders from operating across the border, as had been their earlier practice. The Ojibwe allied with the British during the War of 1812.

In 1882, St. Ignace was given new life by the coming of the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad, which connected the straits area to the major city of Detroit. It was incorporated as a village on February 23, 1882, and as a city in 1883. Later the city has become a rural destination for heritage tourism.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), of which, 2.7 square miles (7.0 km²) of it is land and 0.37% is water.

Demographics

Municipal Building

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,678 people, 1,085 households, and 675 families residing in the city. The population density was 990.7 per square mile (383.0/km²). There were 1,232 housing units at an average density of 455.8 per square mile (176.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.81% White, 19.42% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.30% African American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 7.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.90% of the population.

There were 1,085 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,447, and the median income for a family was $45,893. Males had a median income of $29,813 versus $23,017 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,340. About 6.0% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

• I-75 routes over the Mackinac Bridge and through St. Ignace. Southbound I-75 takes drivers to the Lower Peninsula. Northbound the freeway heads toward Sault Ste. Marie and Canada.
• BL I-75 St. Ignace. Follows the route of old US 2.
• US 2 ends at St. Ignace and I-75. Westbound, US 2 traverses a scenic stretch along Lake Michigan, toward Manistique and Escanaba.
• M-123 starts a few miles north of St. Ignace and heads north into Tahquamenon Falls State Park and eventually to Newberry.
• H-63, also known as Mackinac Trail,is a north-south route traveling along the former route of US-2 from just north of St. Ignace to Sault Ste. Marie.
• Three ferry companies (Arnold Transit Company, Shepler's Ferry and Star Line Ferry) operate out of Saint Ignace, connecting tourists and commuters to Mackinac Island.
• The nearest airports with scheduled passenger service are in Chippewa County International Airport in Kinross (northeast of St. Ignace, adjacent to I-75) and Pellston Regional Airport in the Lower peninsula.

Local sights and events

St. Ignace contains many locations from where one can get a good look at the Mackinac Bridge.

Castle Rock, a geological limestone stack, is located three miles (5 km) north overlooking Lake Huron. Rabbit's Back, a prominent promontory that also overlooks Lake Huron, is 4 miles (6.4 km) north.

Also featuring Kewadin Casinos - St. Ignace.

There are numerous civic events in St. Ignace.

Images

• 

  Looking south in downtown St. Ignace

• 

  Post office

• 

  The ferry harbor with Mackinac Island in the distance

External links

• St. Ignace Visitors Website