Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan ("rapids" in French). In 1668, French missionaries Claude Dablon and Jacques Marquette founded a Jesuit mission at this site. Sault Ste. Marie developed as the fourth-oldest European city in the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains, and the oldest permanent settlement in contemporary Michigan state. On June 4, 1671, Simon-François Daumont de Saint-Lusson, a colonial agent, was dispatched from Quebec to the distant tribes, proposing a congress of Indian nations at the Falls of St. Mary between Lake Huron and Lake Superior. Trader Nicolas Perrot helped attract the principal chiefs, and representatives of 14 Indigenous nations were invited for
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Hockey League All-Stars Joe Thornton & Jeff Carter played their entire OHL careers as members of the Greyhounds. Current NHL players from the Sault Ste. Marie area include New Jersey Devils centre Tyler Kennedy, Buffalo Sabres centre Jordan Nolan, St.Louis Blues centre Chris Thorburn and Vegas Golden Knights defense Colin Miller Sault Ste. Marie native Paul Maurice is the current coach of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets, and has been a head coach for parts of 16 seasons with the Hartford/Carolina franchise, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Jets, becoming the league's youngest ever coach at the age of 28 in 1995,