Editing St. Clair, Michigan (section)

==Naming==
Located on the western banks of the [[St. Clair River]], the city's name is taken from the river. It was named for [[Lake Saint Clair (North America)|Lake Saint Clair]], named by French explorers in the 17th century. The expedition of French explorer [[René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]] entered the lake on August 12, 1679, the [[Calendar of saints|feast day]] of [[Clare of Assisi|Saint Clare of Assisi]], and named it ''Lac Sainte-Claire'' in her honor.<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>

On English maps as early as 1710, the lake is labelled as Saint Clare (the latter the French spelling). The spelling was anglicized as early as the 1755 [[Mitchell Map]], when the lake's name was spelled as "St. Clair," as it is currently.<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>

The name is sometimes attributed to honoring the [[American Revolutionary War]] General [[Arthur St. Clair]], who was President of the United States in Continental Congress during the drafting of the United States Constitution, and Governor of the [[Northwest Territory]], but the name was in use with the current spelling long before St. Clair was a notable figure. The earlier name of the lake may have been conflated with that of the general when officials were later naming some of the political entities near the lake and the river, such as [[St. Clair County, Michigan|St. Clair County]], [[St. Clair Township, Michigan|St. Clair Township]], and the cities of St. Clair and [[St. Clair Shores, Michigan|St. Clair Shores]].

Some have thought that the name was in honor of [[Patrick Sinclair]], a British officer who purchased land on the [[St. Clair River]] at the outlet of the [[Pine River (Michigan)|Pine River]]. There in 1764 he built [[Fort Sinclair]], which was in use for nearly twenty 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>