Our Street Names, Our History

Our Street Names, Our History. . , Walk along Water Street and you will cross the stage where many of the events of Sault Ste. Marie's early history played out., Our interpretive panels along the way will help you understand the important role the St. Marys River played in our past and continues to play today., Many people, of course, also shaped our history., Some are commemorated in the street names you will see along Water Street., Johnston Street is named for John Johnston, an Irishman, and his wife, Oshaw-guscoday-way-quay, an Ojibwe woman. They built a home, a prosperous business, and raised eight children here as one of the Sault's most prominent early families. Part of their home still stands nearby, open to the public during scheduled hours., Glenn Avenue is named for Glenn Kemp, son of George and Viola Kemp, for whom the marina nearby is named; they donated the site to the city. Their home was located on the corner of Glenn Avenue and Water Street., Brady Street is near the eastern edge of the original Fort Brady property. Both are named for Colonel, later General, Hugh Brady, who came here in 1822 with a battalion of soldiers from the Second Regiment of the U.S. Army and built a fort just below the rapids., Bingham Avenue, near the western edge of the fort property, is named for the Reverend Abel Bingham. He came to the Sault in 1828 to build a Baptist Mission and school. He and his wife, Hannah, ran the school until 1855. Bingham also traveled extensively in the region to preach at outlying Native American settlements., Ashmun Street, the city's main thoroughfare, is named for Samuel Ashmun, who arrived in 1824, employed by the American Fur Company. Ashmun was active in early village development, and was affectionately known as "Judge," because he was the unofficial Justice of the Peace before village affairs were formalized., Osborn Boulevard is named for Chase S. Osborn. Born in Indiana, he owned a newspaper in Florence, Wisconsin, and passed through the Sault in 1887 enroute to Canada to explore for minerals. He bought the Sault Ste. Marie News, and became a successful businessman. Osborn is the only man from the Upper Peninsula to be elected Governor of Michigan (as of 2012). He served one term, 1911-12, and returned here afterward to make numerous contributions to the city he loved deeply.