Editing St. Clair County, Michigan (section)

==Etymology==
French explorer [[René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle|René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]] led an expedition to this area on August 12, 1679. They named the lake as ''{{Lang|fr|Lac Sainte-Claire}}'', because it was the [[Calendar of saints|feast day]] of [[Clare of Assisi|Saint Clare of Assisi]], whom they venerated.<ref name="Clarke"/><ref>Jenks, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty&cc=micounty&idno=bad1042.0001.001&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=62 p. 22]</ref> English mapmakers adopted the French name, identifying the lake feature as Saint Clare on maps dated as early as 1710. By the [[Mitchell Map]] of 1755, the spelling was given as St. Clair, which later became the current version in 1924.<ref>Jenks, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=bad1042.0001.001;didno=BAD1042.0001.001;view=image;seq=63;page=root;size=s;frm=frameset; pp. 23-24]</ref> Located along the western shores of [[Lake St. Clair]] and the [[St. Clair River]], the county was named for them by European-American settlers.

The name is sometimes mistakenly attributed to honoring [[Arthur St. Clair]], an [[American Revolutionary War]] general and governor of the [[Northwest Territory]], but it was established long before he was considered a notable figure.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michigan Counties |url=http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0%2C1607%2C7-160-15481_20826_20829-54126--%2C00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728004659/http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-15481_20826_20829-54126--,00.html |archive-date=July 28, 2009 |access-date= |website=State of Michigan |language=en}}</ref> The earlier spelling of the lake's name may have been conflated with English practice and the name of the general, as several political jurisdictions near the lake and the river, such as St. Clair County, [[St. Clair Township, Michigan|St. Clair Township]], and the cities of [[St. Clair, Michigan|St. Clair]] and [[St. Clair Shores, Michigan|St. Clair Shores]], share this spelling (see [[List of Michigan county name etymologies]]).

The name has sometimes been mistakenly attributed to honoring [[Patrick Sinclair]], a British officer who purchased land on the [[St. Clair River]] at the mouth of the [[Pine River (Michigan)|Pine River]]. In 1764, he built Fort Sinclair there, which was in use for nearly 20 years before being abandoned.<ref>Fuller, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;rgn=full%20text;idno=ARH7752.0001.001;didno=ARH7752.0001.001;view=image;seq=00000017 pp. 21-22]</ref> As noted, the name was established before he was active in the area.