St. Ignace History

St. Igance was originally inhabited by the Native American, Iroquoian-speaking, Wendat tribe, called the "Huron" by the French. The village was an important fur trading site in early years of French colonization. In 1671, French explorer and priest Jacques Marquette founded the St. Ignace Mission, named after St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit religious order. A tombstone now marks the grave of Father Marquette, next to the Museum of Ojibway Culture at the former site of St. Ignace Mission.

La Salle reached St. Ignace on August 27, 1679, while exploring the region on the ship Le Griffon with Louis Hennepin. By 1705, the Jesuits had abandoned the mission before the Anishinaabe Ojibwe tribe dominated the territory in the 18th century.

The English took over in 1763 after their victory in the Seven Years War. In 1783, after the victory of rebellious colonists in the American Revolutionary War, the village became part of the new United States.

Due to the construction of the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad, which connected the straits area to the major city of Detroit, the area received a huge economic boost and was incorporated as a village on February 23, 1882, and then as a city in 1883. In the late 19th century, St. Ignace attracted tourists and became a popular summer resort, as city dwellers fled the hot, filthy and disease-infested urbanized cities in the summer months.

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