The History of Sault Ste Marie
The Development of a Northern Ontario City
The history of Sault Ste Marie goes back hundreds of years, beginning long before European contact. Originally known as Baawitigong (now Anglicized to Bawating) by the Ojibwa, the area was first used as a meeting place by natives of the region. These natives would gather where the Great Lakes meet during whitefish season to trade goods.
In 1623, the French explorer Etienne Brule visited the area and renamed it Sault de Gaston – Sault for the French word for rapids and Gaston for the brother of France’s King Louis XIII. Forty-five years later, in 1668, Jesuit missionaries established a settlement at the shores of the St Mary’s River and named it Saults de Saint-Marie, meaning Saint Mary’s Rapids.
Fur Trade Post
The newly formed settlement of Sault Ste Marie became important to the fur trade, as the point that the traders turned north into the back country. In 1783, twenty years after New France was ceded to the British, the North West Company established a trading post at the settlement, and began construction on a small lock.
For nearly a hundred years, the post continued operating with minimal growth. Finally, in 1871, Sault Ste Marie was incorporated as a village, and judicial officials, including a judge, sheriff, reeve, and councilors were appointed. In 1887, the Sault became connected to Sudbury through the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the International Bridge linked it to the United States. It was at this point that the population began to grow steadily, and Sault Ste Marie was large enough to become incorporated as a town.
The Beginnings of Industry
Beginning in 1875, many businessmen attempted to tap into the potential power of the rapids for which the city is named by establishing a hydro electric power plant. None of these ventures were successful, though, and for some time it seemed the town would fail. Fortunately, though, Francis Hector Clergue, an entrepreneur, became aware of the situation, and on 1 October 1894 he addressed the town council and offered to buy all the stock in the project (much of which was owned by the town), and make the town hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next three years.
Clergue did much for Sault Ste Marie, establishing numerous industries in the area. In addition to continuing efforts to establish a hydroelectric facility, Clergue began a small pulpwood operation, including construction of a pulp mill. To ensure that no by-product would be wasted, Clergue also established a sulphite mill, purchased his own nickel mine, launched a ferro-nickel plant, and built a steel plant when iron ore was discovered at Michipicoten.
Thanks to Clergue’s diligence and hard work, Sault Ste Marie continued to grow steadily through the twentieth century, quickly becoming large enough to be incorporated as a city. Today, Sault Ste Marie has a population of approximately 75,000 and the steel and paper industries remain important to its economy.
Sources:
Sault History Online, "F.H.Clergue,"
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, "Sault Sainte Marie"
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