Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie ("Sault" pronounced "soo;" nicknamed "the Sault" or "the Soo"; 2001 population 74,566) is a city on the St. Mary's River in Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario. It is bordered to the east by the Rankin and Garden River First Nation reserves, to the west by Prince Township and to the north by Heyden. To the south, across the river, is the United States and the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is the seat of Algoma District.

History

This area was originally called Baawitigong, meaning "place of the rapids," by the Ojibwa, who used the site as a regional meeting place during whitefish season in the St. Mary's Rapids. After the visit of Étienne Brûlé in 1623, the French called it "Sault de Gaston" in honour of the brother of King Louis XIII of France. In 1668, French Jesuit missionaries renamed it Sault Sainte Marie, which is French for "St. Mary's Rapids", and established a settlement that is now Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on the river's south bank. Sault Ste. Marie was incorporated as a town in 1887 and a city in 1912.

Related Topics:
Ojibwa - Whitefish - Étienne Brûlé - 1623 - French - Louis XIII of France - 1668 - Jesuit - French - Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan - 1887 - 1912

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