St. Clair County, Michigan

St. Clair County
	St. Clair County, Michigan
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Michigan
	; Michigan's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 28, 1820 [1]
Seat	Port Huron
Largest city	Port Huron
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 836.63 sq mi (2,167 km²); 724.37 sq mi (1,876 km²); 112.26 sq mi (291 km²), 13.42%
Population; - (2010); - Density	; 163,040; 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 2010 census, the population was 163,040 according to the U.S. Census Bureau, it forms part of the Metro Detroit area. Geographically, it lies in the Thumb area of Michigan. The county seat is Port Huron.^[1] The county was created 10 September 1820 and its government was organized in 1821.

[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

St. Clair County is also called the Blue Water Area.

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 836.63 square miles (2,166.9 km²), of which 724.37 square miles (1,876.1 km²) (or 86.58%) is land and 112.26 square miles (290.8 km²) (or 13.42%) is water.^[7] 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, which in turn, is a subregion of the Flint/Tri-Cities region.
- Saint Clair County is the principal county in the The Blue Water Area, a subregion of the Thumb.

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Interstates

I-69 enters the county from the west, coming from Lansing and Flint, terminating at the approach to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.
I-94 enters St. Clair County from the southwest, having traversed the entire Metro Detroit region, and, along with I-69, terminates at the approach to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. On the Canadian side of the border, in Sarnia, Ontario, the route heads easterly designated as Highway 402.
I-69 Business Loop.
I-94 Business Loop.

[edit] Michigan State Trunklines

M-19
M-25 follows the Lake Huron/Saginaw Bay shoreline, beginning in Bay City and ending at junction I-94/I-69, and BL I-94/BL I-69 on the north side of Port Huron.
M-29
M-136
M-154 serves Harsen's Island, in Lake St. Clair.

[edit] Demographics

The 2010 United States Census^[8] indicates St. Clair County had a 2010 population of 163,040. This is a decrease of -1,195 people from the 2000 United States Census. Overall, the county had a -0.7% growth rate during this ten year period. In 2010 there were 63,841 households and 44,238 families in the county. The population density was 226.1 per square mile (87.3 square kilometers). There were 71,822 housing units at an average density of 99.6 per square mile (38.5 square kilometers). The racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 92.1% White, 2.4% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 2.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.1% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races.

There were 63,841 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were husband and wife families, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.7% were non-families, and 25.5% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.7% under age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.

The 2010 American Community Survey 1-year estimate^[8] indicates the median income for a household in the county was $44,369 and the median income for a family was $53,207. Males had a median income of $30,056 versus $16,771 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,390. About 10.4% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.7% of those under the age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

[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.