St. Clair County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census the population was 164235 with the 2009 Census Bureau estimate placing the population at 167562. 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. Contents 1 Naming 2 Geography 2.1 Adjacent counties 2.2 Transportation 2.2.1 Interstates 2.2.2 Michigan State Trunklines 3 Demographics 4 Government 4.1 St.Clair County elected officials 5 Cities villages and townships 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links 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 Ren 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.23 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 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 (2166.9 km2) of which 724.37 square miles (1876.1 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 principle county in the The Blue Water Area a subregion of the Thumb. Adjacent counties Sanilac County (north) Lapeer County (west) Macomb County (south) Lambton County Ontario (east) Sanilac County Lake Huron Lapeer County Lambton County Ontario Canada    St. Clair County Michigan     Macomb County Lake St. Clair Transportation 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. 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. Demographics Historical populations Census Pop. % 1900 55228 1910 52341 5.2% 1920 58009 10.8% 1930 67563 16.5% 1940 76222 12.8% 1950 91599 20.2% 1960 107201 17.0% 1970 120175 12.1% 1980 138802 15.5% 1990 145607 4.9% 2000 164235 12.8% Est. 2009 167562 2.0%

As of the census8 of 2000 there were 164235 people 62072 households and 44629 families residing in the county. The population density was 227 people per square mile (88/km). There were 67107 housing units at an average density of 93 per square mile (36/km). The racial makeup of the county was 94.96% White 2.10% Black or African American 0.50% Native American 0.40% Asian 0.02% Pacific Islander 0.64% from other races and 1.38% from two or more races. 2.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.8% were of German 10.1% Polish 9.9% Irish 8.8% English 7.6% American 5.7% French and 5.2% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.3% spoke only English at home while 1.4% spoke Spanish.

There were 62072 households out of which 34.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them 57.40% were married couples living together 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present and 28.10% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18 7.90% from 18 to 24 30.00% from 25 to 44 23.10% from 45 to 64 and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46313 and the median income for a family was $54450. Males had a median income of $42572 versus $25880 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21582. About 5.80% of families and 7.80% of the population were below the poverty line including 9.30% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.

By 2006 the population had risen to 171725. The 2005 estimates showed that 93.3% of the county's population were non-Hispanic whites; African-Americans formed 2.2%; and Asians and Native Americans each formed 0.5%. Hispanic people of any race were 2.6% of the population.9 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. St.Clair County elected officials Prosecuting Attorney: Michael D. Wendling Sheriff: Tim Donnellon County Clerk/Register of Deeds: Marilyn Dunn County Treasurer: Kelly M. Roberts-Burnett Drain Commissioner: Robert Wiley County Surveyor: Steve Bruen (information as of September 2005) Cities villages and townships Cities Algonac Marine City Marysville Memphis Also Macomb Co. Port Huron Richmond Also Macomb Co. St. Clair Yale Villages Capac Emmett Unincorporated communities Adair Allenton Anchorville Avoca Goodells Pearl Beach Smiths Creek Sparlingville Townships Berlin Township Brockway Township Burtchville Township Casco Township China Charter Township Clay Township Clyde Township Columbus Township Cottrellville Township East China Charter Township Emmett Township Fort Gratiot Charter Township Grant Township Greenwood Township Ira Township Kenockee Township Kimball Township Lynn Township Mussey Township Port Huron Charter Township Riley Township St. Clair Township Wales Township See also National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Clair County Michigan Notes "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.  Jenks p. 22 Clarke Historical Library Central Michigan University Bibliography on St. Clair County Jenks pp. 23-24 Michigan County Names Fuller pp. 21-22 "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13.  "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.  St. Clair County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau References Fuller George Newman (2005) 1926. "Indians and Explorations". Local history and personal sketches of St. Clair and Shiawassee counties. Ann Arbor Mich.: University of Michigan Library. pp. 1727. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idxcmicounty;ccmicounty;rgnfull%20text;idnoARH7752.0001.001;didnoARH7752.0001.001;viewimage;seq00000013. Retrieved 2007-11-23.  Jenks William Lee (2005) 1912. "Origin of Name". St. Clair County Michigan its history and its people. Ann Arbor Mich.: University of Michigan Library. pp. 2024. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idxcmicounty;ccmicounty;rgnfull%20text;idnoBAD1042.0001.001;didnoBAD1042.0001.001;viewimage;seq00000060. Retrieved 2007-11-23.  External links Metro Detroit portal St. Clair County Info and photos of historic bridges in St. Clair County Clarke Historical Library Central Michigan University Bibliography on St. Clair County v d eMunicipalities and communities of St. Clair County Michigan County seat: Port Huron Cities Algonac  Marine City  Marysville  Memphis  Port Huron  Richmond  St. Clair  Yale Villages Capac  Emmett Charter townships China  East China  Fort Gratiot  Port Huron General law townships Berlin  Brockway  Burtchville  Casco  Clay  Clyde  Columbus  Cottrellville  Emmett  Grant  Greenwood  Ira  Kenockee  Kimball  Lynn  Mussey  Riley  St. Clair  Wales Unincorporated communities Adair  Allenton  Anchorville  Avoca  Berville  Jeddo  Lakeport  Pearl Beach  Riley Center  Sans Souci  Smiths Creek  Sparlingville Footnotes This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties v d eMetro Detroit Topics Architecture  Culture  Detroit River  Economy  Freeways  History  Historic places  International Riverfront  Lake St. Clair  Media  Music  Parks and beaches  People  Skyscrapers  Sports  Theatre  Tourism Transportation Major city Detroit Municipalities over 80000 Canton Township  Clinton Township  Dearborn  Livonia  Sterling Heights  Troy  Warren  Westland Municipalities 50000 to 80000 Dearborn Heights  Farmington Hills  Grosse Pointe  Macomb Township  Novi  Pontiac  Redford Township  Rochester Hills  Royal Oak  Saint Clair Shores  Shelby Township  Southfield  Taylor  Waterford Township  West Bloomfield Township Satellite cities Ann Arbor  Brighton  Flint  Howell  Lapeer  Monroe  Port Huron  Toledo  Windsor  Ypsilanti Counties in MSA Lapeer  Livingston  Macomb  Oakland  St. Clair  Wayne Counties in CSA Genesee  Monroe   Washtenaw Regions Southeast Michigan  Great Lakes Outlying regions Central Michigan  Flint/Tri-Cities  Northwest Ohio  Southwestern Ontario  Michigan  United States v d e State of Michigan Lansing (capital) Topics Congressional delegation  Geography  Governors  History  Islands  Legislature  Lieutenant Governors  Lighthouses  Museums  National Historic Landmarks  National Register of Historic Places listings  People  State Historic Sites  State parks  Supreme Court  Tallest buildings  Timeline  Topics  Visitor attractions Regions Upper Peninsula Copper Country  Keweenaw Peninsula  Gogebic Range Lower Peninsula Central Michigan  Southern Michigan  Flint/Tri-Cities  The Thumb  The Greater Tri Cities  Michiana  Northern Michigan  Southeast Michigan  Metro Detroit  West Michigan Largest Municipalities Alpena  Ann Arbor  Battle Creek  Bay City  Bloomfield Township  Canton Township  Chesterfield Township  Clinton Township  Commerce Township  Dearborn  Dearborn Heights  Detroit  East Lansing  Eastpointe  Farmington Hills  Flint  Flint Township  Georgetown Township  Grand Rapids  Holland  Jackson  Kalamazoo  Kentwood  Lansing  Lincoln Park  Livonia  Macomb Township  Meridian Township  Midland  Muskegon  Novi  Pontiac  Portage  Redford  Rochester Hills  Roseville  Royal Oak  Saginaw  Saginaw Township  St. Clair Shores  Shelby Township  Southfield  Sterling Heights  Taylor  Troy  Warren  Waterford Township  West Bloomfield  Westland  Wyoming  Ypsilanti Township Counties Alcona  Alger  Allegan  Alpena  Antrim  Arenac  Baraga  Barry  Bay  Benzie  Berrien  Branch  Calhoun  Cass  Charlevoix  Cheboygan  Chippewa  Clare  Clinton  Crawford  Delta  Dickinson  Eaton  Emmet  Genesee  Gladwin  Gogebic  Grand Traverse  Gratiot  Hillsdale  Houghton  Huron  Ingham  Ionia  Iosco  Iron  Isabella  Jackson  Kalamazoo  Kalkaska  Kent  Keweenaw  Lake  Lapeer  Leelanau  Lenawee  Livingston  Luce  Mackinac  Macomb  Manistee  Marquette  Mason  Mecosta  Menominee  Midland  Missaukee  Monroe  Montcalm  Montmorency  Muskegon  Newaygo  Oakland  Oceana  Ogemaw  Ontonagon  Osceola  Oscoda  Otsego  Ottawa  Presque Isle  Roscommon  Saginaw  Sanilac  Schoolcraft  Shiawassee  St. Clair  St. Joseph  Tuscola  Van Buren  Washtenaw  Wayne  Wexford Coordinates: 4256N 8240W / 42.93N 82.67W / 42.93; -82.67