 French Canadians had started a new life in Ste. Marie.
Ste. Marie served as the Union's farthest stronghold from the fighting in the south during the Civil War. The Mackinac Arsenal on Mackinac Island was one of the largest arsenals in the Union, which doubled as a large Union army prison camp during the war years. The Springfield Armory, the largest manufacturer of riles in the Union, employed thousands of workers during the Civil War. Due to Ste. Marie's importance during the war, the National Civil War was founded at 2061 Barrin Street in 1905.
20th century Edit
21st century Edit
Much of Detroit's population loss before 2010 relocated to Ste. Marie, where jobs were more plentiful and living standards were better. An earthquake in 2008 did little to slow population growth, and little signs remain of this earthquake.
2014 Waugoshance earthquake Edit
- Main article: 2014 Waugoshance earthquake
Increasing population Edit
Starting in the mid-2000s, Ste. Marie experience population growth due to several factors. Many residents who came to live in Ste. Marie after 2005 came to avoid rising poverty and closures of many manufacturing centers in Detroit. Ste. Marie also saw a rising job market, with a Chrysler facility opening in 2007. In 2000, Ste. Marie's population was 688,701, which rose to 702,513 in 2010.
After the 2014 earthquake, population, estimated by use of city services on December 27, had fallen to about 402,865, 56% of the October 19, 2014 population of 719,401. The Census Bureau has rejected the December 27 calculation as inconclusive, as many people have yet the chance to return to their homes and decide whether or not to rebuild.
Ste. Marie has been a center for music in the United States since the early 1920s when Swing and 1920s Jazz were developed in the city. A pioneer of Ste. Marie's music was Bix Beiderbecke, a Ste. Marie native of German ancestry who formed The Wolverines in various dancing halls in Central City. Jazz grew to become synonymous with Ste. Marie in the "Jazz Age" when America sought new music.
While Ste. Marie Jazz (Northern Jazz) shares many qualities with New Orleans Jazz, there are several differences. Northern Jazz was said to have invited, rather than commanded you to listen - perhaps due to a simple difference in slave culture of the colonial era, where slavery in the Ste. Marie was ended far before it was in New Orleans.
Ste. Marie is often referred to as the birthplace of America's food. Indeed, many popular dishes eaten across the country today originated from the diverse pallet of Ste. Marie. Most notably is Ste. Marie's take on hamburgers, with thicker patties of beef, thick French bread buns; topped with ingredients such as pickle relish and varieties of Great Lakes seafood. These are then topped with des allemands (of Germany), which is a flavorful, salty seasoning that is very recognizable and widely used in other dishes of the city.
A form of chili was also developed by poor Creole slaves in the mid 18th century containing no spices - unlike Texas style chili. This is commonly served in the fall and winter months, while French bread sandwiches loaded with chicken and roast beef are served during the spring and summer. Other soups, such as potato and minestrone, were developed by Irish immigrants in Ste. Marie throughout the 19th century.
National protected areas Edit
Earthquake vulnerability Edit
Being at the northwest end of the Les Cheneaux fault line, Ste. Marie is very vulnerable to earthquakes. After a 5.4 magnitude quake caused damage in the city in July 2008, the Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that a stronger earthquake could result in "the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States," further predicting "widespread and catastrophic losses," for the Ste. Marie metropolitan area and the states of Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and southern Canada.
Beginning in February 1989, climatologist Iben Browning – who claimed to have predicted the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake predicted that there wa