page_title: St. Marys River (Michigan–Ontario)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: St. Marys River (Michigan–Ontario) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The twin cities of Sault Ste Marie are located across the St. Mary’s River, which forms part of the international boundary between Canada (Province of Ontario) and the United States (State of Michigan). This astronaut photograph highlights the two cities, as well as the lakes and islands that separate Lakes Huron and Superior, two of the Great Lakes of North America. Smaller lakes include Lake George to the west, and the large forested islands of St. Joseph and Drummond are visible at image upper left. The Sault Ste Marie urban areas (image lower left) have a distinctive gray to white colour, contrasting with the deep green of forested areas in Ontario and the lighter green of agricultural fields in Michigan. The water surfaces in the lakes and rivers vary from blue to blue-green to silver, likely the result of varying degrees of sediment and sunglint—light reflecting from the water surface back to the International Space Station.
context_page_description: The St. Marys River, sometimes written as the St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of 23 feet. For its entire length it is an international border, separating Michigan in the United States from Ontario, Canada.
  The twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan are connected across the St. Marys River by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge. The St. Marys Rapids are just below the river's exit from Lake Superior and can be bypassed by huge freight ships through the man-made Soo Locks and the Sault Ste. Marie Canal.
  Two of the Ontario tributaries of this river are the Garden River and the Bar River. Other Canadian tributaries include Fort Creek, the Root River, the Little Carp River, the Big Carp River, the Lower Echo River, Desbarats River, and the Two Tree River. The American tributaries to the St. Marys River are the Gogomain River, the Munuscong River, the Little Munuscong River, the Charlotte River, and the Waiska River.
context_section_description: Before Europeans arrived, Ojibwe (Chippewa) Native Americans fished, traded, and maintained a portage around the rapids of the St. Marys River, which they referred to as Baawitigong, meaning "at the cascading rapids". French explorer Étienne Brûlé was the first European to travel up the rapids in about 1621. In 1641 Jesuit priests Isaac Jogues and Charles Raymbault ventured the same route as Brûlé, finding many Ojibwe at the rapids, and named it Sault Ste. Marie.  Sault (Middle and early Modern French spelling of saut) means "jump"; hence, the secondary meaning "rapids" because the water 'jumps.'
  Fort St. Joseph was built on the Canadian shore in 1796 to protect a trading post, and ensure continued British control of the area.  The fort fulfilled its role in the War of 1812.
  The first modern lock was completed in May 1855 by Erastus Corning's St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal Company, and was known as the "American Lock".  Today, there are four parallel locks on the American side of the river, although only two are in regular use.  The Soo Locks became part of the Great Lakes Waterway system in 1959.
  Partially due to the American refusal of passage through the Soo Locks during the Wolseley Expedition, a Canadian Lock was built in 1895. The current Canadian Lock is used for recreational boats and is a National Historic Site of Canada.
  During World War II, the Soo Locks and the St. Marys River waterway were heavily guarded by U.S. and Canadian forces coordinated by the U.S. Army's Central Defense Command. During the waterway's usable season from March through November, 90 percent of the United States' iron ore production for domestic use passed through it in 1939, making the waterway critical to maintaining war production. A battalion of infantry, stationed at nearby Fort Brady, provided security beginning just after the outbreak of the European war in September 1939; this was reduced to a company in mid-1940 and replaced by a military police battalion in May 1941. After Pearl Harbor in December 1941, fear of possible air or paratroop attacks by German forces led to a major expansion of defense measures. Scenarios envisioned included U-boats in Hudson Bay launching attack aircraft, and one-way bombing or paratroop missions along a great circle route from German-occupied Norway. Units deployed included the 131st Infantry Regiment, an anti-aircraft regiment, and a barrage balloon battalion for a total in mid-1942 of 7,000 troops in the area. Canada provided an anti-aircraft battalion, elements of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, barracks and defensive positions for some of the U.S. force, and a warning system of 266 aircraft observation posts of the Aircraft Identity Corps extending northward to Hudson Bay. This was augmented by five U.S.-staffed radar stations in northern Ontario. By late 1943, with no threat emerging and spare components stockpiled in the event of lock damage, the U.S. forces were cut to 2,500 troops, and the AA and air warning defenses were abandoned. In January 1944 the garrison was further reduced to a single military police battalion.
caption: St. Marys River connects Lake Superior (top left) to Lake Huron (bottom and right)
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