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Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the Ojibwa of the 17th century called the present site of Sault Ste. Marie Pawating, which means “turbulent waters.” The Jesuit missionaries arrived here in 1634 and named the location Sault Ste. Marie. It must indeed have felt like true virgin land in all of that natural beauty.

In 1671 Daumont de St. Lusson took possession of the entire interior of the continent for the French. An historic ceremony, to mark the event, was held at Sault Ste. Marie. For the next several years, Sault Ste. Marie was the major centre of French activity in Upper Canada.

The first fort in the area was constructed by the French at St. Ignace, in 1696. Five years later, the garrison was moved to what is now Detroit. The French re-established the fort at the tip of the lower peninsula. Occupation of the fort, by the French, continued until the fall of Quebec. By 1767 the fort was occupied by the British until the garrison was ordered to move to Michilimackinac Island. The British government kept possession of the fort until after the close of the War of Independence. Fort St. Joseph, built in 1796, was located 48 kilometres (30 miles) east of Sault Ste. Marie.

The North-West Company established a trading post at Sault Ste. Marie in 1783. In 1814 the village was attacked by the American forces during the War of 1812. The Americans torched the North-West Company post, and most of the village was burned to the ground. The company rebuilt after the war, and by 1821 became the Hudson’s Bay Company.

The first recorded British settler to become a citizen of Sault Ste. Marie was Joseph Wilson. The government sent Wilson there in 1843 to carry out the duties of Indian agent, customs officer, postmaster, general military officer, and government contractor. Two years later, surveys of Sault Ste. Marie and the townships in the vicinity were made, and these lands were opened for general settlement by pioneers. However, land to be surrendered by the Ojibwa was needed in order to facilitate the government’s objective: mining interests in the area and settlement.

The development of the mining industry created a strong government incentive for negotiations of land surrender from the Ojibwa. Many settlement sites were located close to mineral deposits, particularly copper. Prospecting, surveying, and technical teams scouted the countryside for mineral deposits. Interest increased with the development of successful mining operations on the upper Michigan Peninsula. Many entrepreneurs believed that copper deposits in particular would be found on both sides of the Upper Great Lakes.

By 1845 the Crown Lands Department had created prospecting regulations and licensing to determine the boundaries of mining claims and the price of lands that contained base metals. In May 1846 the department issued 34 licences to prospect for minerals on the north shore of Lake Superior.

One of the first companies to seek the opportunities of the north was the Montreal Mining Company. This English company purchased numerous mining locations totalling 466 square kilometres (180 miles); one single location extended eight kilometres (five miles) long and more than three kilometres (two miles) wide. In 1848 their holdings at Bruce Mines on Lake Huron reported that 1,475 tonnes of copper ore had been extracted. The government made a decision to send out its own surveyors to locate other sources of minerals.

The Natives were watching the antics of these newcomers and warned them to leave untouched any land that had been set aside for Native use. One surveyor in particular was threatened by Chief Shinguakouse of Garden River. The Chief wrote to the governor-general on June 10, 1846. In his letter Shinguakouse referred to his service to the British in the War of 1812, and he reminded the governor-general that he had been promised at that time that he would be able to live “unmolested forever.” He felt the promise had been broken with the arrival of men into his region of land.

In 1849 two gentlemen, Anderson and Vidal, were sent by the government to the northern shores of Lake Huron and Lake Superior to determine the strength of any Native claim to the land. Their report stated that “the claim of the present occupants of this tract derived from their forefathers, who have from time immemorial hunted upon it.” They further noted “that the claim was unquestionably as good as that of any of the tribes who had received compensation for the cession of their rights in other parts of the Province; and therefore they were entitled to similar remuneration.”

The government was slow to act, and some people decided to take matters into their own hands. In November of that same year, a group of First Nations people and Metis, led by the white entrepreneur Allan Macdonell, travelled from Sault Ste. Marie along the shore of Lake Superior for about 320 kilometres (200 miles) to Mica Bay. Upon reaching Mica Bay, they attacked the mining installations of the Quebec Mining Company. Reports of the armed force, led by Macdonell, varied widely, as few as 30 and as many as 100 people. The company agent, John Bonner, surrendered the mining site without any resistance.

The government sent 100 soldiers to suppress the revolt. In December Macdonell and another participant, Metcalfe, were arrested, as were two Metis and two Ojibwa chiefs including Shinguakouse. They were sent to York (Toronto) to stand trial. Eventually, they all were all released.

The Anderson-Vidal report and the incident at Mica Bay prompted the government to settle the northwestern land question quickly. William Benjamin Robinson was appointed to achieve this goal. The government wanted him to buy as much land as possible, but not to settle for less than “the north shore of Lake Huron and the mining sites along the eastern shore of Lake Superior.” It was Robinson’s intention during these meetings to acquire all the lands on both Lake Huron and Lake Superior for 4,000 British pounds ($10,000) in cash, and a perpetual annuity of 1,000 British pounds for the region.

W.B. Robinson was able to complete two agreements in September 1850 for virtually the whole of the Upper Canadian northwest for government use. These agreements are generally referred to as the Robinson-Huron Treaty and the Robinson-Superior Treaty. The first agreement called for the cession of the Lake Huron shoreline, including the islands, from Matchedash Bay to Batchewana Bay, and inland as far as the height of the land. The latter agreement gave the crown the shoreline of Lake Superior, including islands, from Batchewana Bay to the Pigeon River, inland as “far as the height of land,” which probably meant to the horizon. The first contained 92,500 square kilometres (35,700 miles) of land, inhabited by a total Native population of 1,240; the latter was occupied by 1,422 Natives and covered 43,250 square kilometres (16,700 miles) of territory.

Two years prior to the Native land settlement, the first dock on the Canadian side of Sault Ste. Marie was begun by a Mr. Garfield, at the foot of Spring Street. Then it was not long before the first lake steamer, the Gore, engaged in a regular passenger and freight service from southern points on Georgian Bay to points along the North Shore. The Dime, so named for the price of the fare from Michigan to Canada, was the first steam ferry to run between the two Saults.

The first settlers in the area were connected primarily to the fur trade and came from Ireland, France, Scotland, and England. When the fur trade declined, the settlement became little more than a steamboat landing. In 1857 the population of non-native settlers was 300.

Sault Ste. Marie was incorporated as a village in 1871, and in 1887 as a town. That same year, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the International Bridge over the rapids were constructed; this provided Sault Ste. Marie with active transport connections to a greater area. In 1895 the Ship Canal was opened for traffic. Prosperity led to city status by 1912.

At the turn of the century, a rather enterprising soul by the name of Francis H. Clergue arrived in the area. He was a shrewd man and quickly realized the marvelous potential of the area; within a few years, he had developed numerous industries. The Power Canal was enlarged, the Pulp Mill and the Hudson Bay Railway were constructed, and the iron ore mines of the Michipicoten District were developed. The steel industry was established at Sault Ste. Marie, following the incorporation of The Algoma Steel Company Limited in May 1901, and the first standard steel rails to be made in Canada were rolled in May 1902.

Rapid industrial development attracted European immigrants. Italians, Finnish, French, and Polish arrived, eager to work. Since the end of the Second World War, many Dutch and German families have called Sault Ste. Marie their home.

The 20-million-dollar International Bridge connecting the two “Soos,” as they are affectionately termed, was officially opened in 1963 by Governor George Romney of Michigan and Premier John Roberts of Ontario.

Ernest Hemingway once remarked in the Toronto Star Weekly that the best rainbow trout fishing in the world was in the rapids at the Canadian Soo. To this day, St. Mary’s Rapids is rated once of the best trout rivers in the world, right on the waterfront of Sault Ste. Marie.

Tourism is a major industry for the city of Sault Ste. Marie today. A very popular attraction in the area is the famous one-day wilderness train tour of Agawa Canyon. Tourists climb aboard to relax and recline in their seats as they roll past beautiful pristine waters and the incredible gorges of Algoma Central Country. It is a 180-kilometre (114-mile) trip from Sault Ste. Marie to the Agawa Canyon, where a two-hour stopover provides an opportunity to photograph waterfalls and rocky cliffs, walk well-groomed nature trails, or climb up to the lookout for an awesome view of the canyon floor below.

This incredible opportunity to see the magnificent geographic features of the Laurentian Shield is available in every season, which is an unusual opportunity in the north.

One can still experience what the Jesuits felt: a virgin land, a land still unconquered, strong, beautiful, defiant, awesome. We are blessed indeed to have this in our midst.