Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario sides of the river. Sault Ste. Marie is one of the oldest French settlements in North America. It was at the crossroads of the 3,000-mile fur trade route, which stretched from Montreal to Sault Ste. Marie and to the North country above Lake Superior. A cosmopolitan, mixed population of Europeans, First Nations peoples, and Métis lived at the village spanning the river. The city name originates from "Saults de Sainte-Marie", archaic French for "Saint Mary's Falls", a reference to the rapids of Saint Marys River. Etymologically, the word "sault" comes from an archaic spelling of "saut" (from "sauter"), which translates
John Johnston House (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) John Johnston was Justice of the Peace in Sault Ste Marie for many years. He remained in Sault Ste. Marie for the rest of his life, remaining in the fur trade. In 1812, Johnston helped British troops take control of Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island. In 1814, American forces burned his house, as well as $40,000 of his goods, in retaliation. However, Johnston rebuilt, in part by selling his parent's estate in Ireland, and became connected with John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company. John Johnston died on September 22, 1828. In 1794, John Johnston constructed a house on this site.