St. Ignace, Michigan
—  City  —
Location of St. Ignace, Michigan
Coordinates: 45°51′57″N 84°43′33″W / 45.86583°N 84.72583°W / 45.86583; -84.72583
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[1]
GNIS feature ID	1621477[2]

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^[3]. 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. It is a connecting node between the Lower and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

[edit] History

Museum of Ojibwa Culture sits on the site of a Huron village as well as the St. Ignace Mission; the mission is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

St. Ignace is one of the oldest cities founded by Europeans in Michigan. Before French contact, Native Americans had inhabited the area for centuries. French explorer and priest Jacques Marquette founded the St. Ignace Mission on this site in 1671.^[4] He named it for St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order. (Ignace is the French version of Ignatius.)

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 English took over the territory after the Seven Years War. After the American Revolutionary War, the village became part of the United States.

An important fur trading site in early years, St. Ignace declined in importance as economic development shifted. 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.^[4]

[edit] Geography

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

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

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] 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/sq mi (176.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.81% White, 0.30% African American, 19.42% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 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.

Municipal Building

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.

[edit] 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.
• I-75 Business Loop St. Ignace. Follows the route of old US 2.
• The western segment of US-2 ends at St. Ignace and I-75.^[5]
• 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.

The ferry harbor with Mackinac Island in the distance.

• Three ferry companies 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^[6] in the Lower peninsula.

[edit] 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.

There are numerous civic events in St. Ignace.^[7]

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• St. Ignace Visitors Website

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Mackinac County, Michigan County seat: St. Ignace Cities Mackinac Island | St. Ignace Townships Bois Blanc | Brevort | Clark | Garfield | Hendricks | Hudson | Marquette | Moran | Newton | Portage | St. Ignace Unincorporated communities Allenville | Brevort | Cedarville | Curtis | Engadine | Epoufette | Evergreen Shores | Garnet | Gould City | Gros Cap | Hessel | Millecoquins | Moran | Naubinway | Pointe Aux Pins | Rexton