The story
Read it all →How Sault Ste. Marie came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Sault Ste. Marie.
For centuries, Oc̣eṭi Ṡakowiƞ (Dakota, Lakota, Nakoda), or Sioux, people lived in the area.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0A+History
History · Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie dates to 1668, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #4 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
16 places in town are on the National Register, among them the St. Mary's Falls Canal, a National Historic Landmark, and two historic districts with 119 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1860.
1668founded
16on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
25famous people
Quick answers
How Sault Ste. Marie began
When was Sault Ste. Marie founded?
1668
Sault Ste. Marie dates its founding to 1668 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.
First census: 596 in 18602020 census: 13,337358 years
How historic is Sault Ste. Marie?
A+
What drives the grade ↓Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sault Ste. Marie’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sault Ste. Marie is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 701 in Michigan. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sault Ste. Marie’s overall grade.
Founding era1668, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194029.4% of homes (±3.5) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register16 listings, 129 historic buildings, 96.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)#4 of 701
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sault Ste. Marie’s 96.7 sits above most of its state (94% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 129 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1668.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Sault Ste. Marie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A National Historic Landmark16 places on the National Register, including St. Mary's Falls Canal, a National Historic Landmark.A historic districtThe Sault Ste. Marie Historic Commercial District takes in 103 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1668, 108 years before the Declaration of Independence.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Sault Ste. Marie, and 7 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · On the National Register
16 listings protect 129 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
places listed
16
National Historic Landmark
1
St. Mary's Falls Canal
historic buildings protected
129
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
St. Mary's Falls Canal
BuildingsDistrictsSitesStructures★ landmark
Architectural styles listings
Late Victorian2
Second Renaissance Style1
High Victorian1
Richardsonian Romanesque-Style1
Romanesque1
Gothic Revival1
★ LandmarkSt. Mary's Falls CanalBuilt 1855
John Johnston HouseBuilding
Old Fort BradySite
New Fort BradyDistrict
S.s. Valley CampStructure
ElmwoodBuilding
Federal BuildingSecond Renaissance Style · Built 1909
Chippewa County CourthouseHigh Victorian
All 16 listings
Central Methodist Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1984First United Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1984St. Mary's Pro-CathedralBuilding · listed 1984Saint James' Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1998Adams BuildingBuilding · listed 2010Gowan BlockBuilding · listed 2010Sault Ste. Marie Historic Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 2020Garfield SchoolBuilding · listed 2022
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Timeline
Sault Ste. Marie, 1668 to 1966
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 17th century
- 1668FoundingSault Ste. Marie is established
- 19th century
- 1823Post officeThe Sault De Ste Marie post office opens
- 1855BuiltSt. Mary's Falls Canal is built
- 1860
In the archiveSault Ste. Marie - 1871
In the archiveOjibwa village at Sault Ste. Marie in 1846.label QS:Len,"Ojibwa village at Sault Ste. Mar… - 1888
In the archiveAerial view of Portage Avenue, Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, showing a streetcar - 20th century
- 1900
Born hereTaffy Abel is born here - 1903
BuiltAdams Building is built - 1903Post officeThe Sault De Ste Marie post office closes
- 1903Post officeThe Sault Sainte Marie post office opens
- 1907Born hereDick Lundy is born here
- 1909BuiltFederal Building is built
- 1920Born hereBob Bemer is born here
- 1951
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1952
Born hereTerry O'Quinn is born here - 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 18,722
- 1966LandmarkSt. Mary's Falls Canal named a National Historic Landmark
By decade
Sault Ste. Marie, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1860s–1880s5 items
1860
18651890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumOn the map
Sault Ste. Marie on the map, 1951 to 1975
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sault Ste. Marie. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Sault Ste Marie South sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sault Ste. Marie.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewSault Ste. Marie, 1860
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sault Ste. Marie’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Sault Ste. Marie, census by census
Peaked at 18,722 in 1960; 13,337 people lived here in 2020.
16 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sault Ste. Marie’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →25 famous people were born in Sault Ste. Marie
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
B
Bob BemerAmerican computer scientist and aerospace engin… · b. 1920D
Dick LundyAmerican animator · b. 1907
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Another post office, Sault De Ste Marie, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Sault De Ste Marie
Sault Sainte Marie
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Chippewa Travel Trailer ParkFornicola Trailer ParkL and M Trailer ParkLake Superior EstatesRiverside Mobile Home VillageSault Sainte MarieShallows
1cemetery inside Sault Ste. Marie
Maple Ridge
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Finish Sault Ste. Marie’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Sault Ste. Marie’s history
What year was Sault Ste. Marie founded?
In 1668, according to Wikidata. Sault Ste. Marie’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1860 counted 596 people here.
How does Sault Ste. Marie rank for history?
Sault Ste. Marie is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 701 in Michigan. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Sault Ste. Marie?
16 listings: 11 buildings, 2 historic districts, the New Fort Brady and the Sault Ste. Marie Historic Commercial District, with 119 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures. 129 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Sault Ste. Marie?
29% of Sault Ste. Marie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1956.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (16), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.