Passing Through the Oldest City in Michigan

Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest city in Michigan that isn’t a city. When you hear the word city, you think of a metropolis. Fancy stores. A bunch of restaurants. Lots of traffic. A wide ranging diverse population. A hub of new culture. Where everyone goes. The epicenter of an urban orbit. That’s not Sault Ste. Marie.

You would think the oldest city in Michigan would be big. It isn’t. The Soo (that’s what Yoopers call it) has a population of 13,000 and almost none of the signals of what we consider a city. But it’s not really a small town either. It’s something else. It’s the home of the Soo Locks. Hundreds of massive freighters pass through these locks every year. Without these locks, shipping and industry would be radically different in North America. Sault Ste. Marie is a reminder of cities with purpose. It’s not trendy or polished. It’s not a playground for DINKs (dual income, no kids). It’s work. Rough. Gritty. A place where things pass through.

There isn’t much along the road in the eastern U.P. The Soo pops up out of nowhere, with almost no warning. Black smoke rises from a plant in Canada. I take Exit 394 and am immediately on residential streets. Houses and stop signs. Kids playing outside. A bridge towering above. No traffic. Slow. A few minutes later and I am already downtown on Portage Avenue. The main strip.