Lapeer

History

By an ordinance of the Congress of the United States passed on July 13, 1787, the area lying northwest of the Ohio River, though still occupied by the British, was organized as the Northwest Territory. Lapeer County was once part of the Northwest Territory. In January 1820, the county of Oakland was formed, which served the area now known as Lapeer, until the County of Lapeer was formed in 1837, when Michigan became a state. The first elections were for county officers, with 520 persons voting in 1837. Folklore claims Lapeer was derived from the naming of the south branch of the Flint River, which flows northwestward in Lapeer County. French and Indian traders frequently passed over this section of the county and through the river, ultimately naming the city for the stone that lay at the river bottom. In French, stone is called "la pierre"; the English pronunciation of these words gives Lapeer. The river was named Flint, synonymous with stone. (See List of Michigan county name etymologies.) It is also believed that the first settlers who came from New York State may have brought the name Lapeer from a similarly named city in their home state. A third supposition is that French missionaries named the city Le Pere, meaning The Father. The first settlers in Lapeer were a group of men named Alvin N. Hart, Oliver B. Hart, and J.B. Morse. Lapeer became a founding member of the Karegnondi Water Authority. On August 15, 2012, the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot was won from a ticket sold at a Sunoco station in Lapeer. The jackpot had an annuity value of $337 million.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is considered to be part of the Thumb of Michigan, which in turn is a subregion of the Flint/Tri-Cities.

Race & ethnicity