Metro Detroit St. Clair County City
Algonac
The Venice of Michigan: canals, Chris-Craft speedboats and the St. Clair delta
- People (2025 estimate)
- 4,109
- Land area
- 1.4 sq mi · 3.7 km²
- From downtown
- 32.9 miles · 53 km · northeast
- Incorporated
- 1967
Nothing on our calendar here this week yet.
01 / Why it matters
Why Algonac matters
Algonac sits at the lower end of the St. Clair River, where the river builds the largest delta in the Great Lakes on its way into Lake St. Clair. Canals wind through town, which is why it's nicknamed the Venice of Michigan. A long boardwalk runs along the river in City Park, perfect for freighter watching, and a ferry crosses from here to Walpole Island in Ontario.
Algonac calls itself the birthplace of modern power boating and of Chris-Craft: the company switched to assembly-line production at its Algonac plant in the late 1920s and put speedboats within reach of the middle class. Speed king Gar Wood, the first person to top 100 mph on water, had a home here too.
St. Clair County is part of the six-county Detroit–Warren–Dearborn metro area, so Algonac is officially Metro Detroit, out on its watery eastern edge. Ferries run from town and neighboring Clay Township to Russell Island and Harsens Island.
02 / Known for
What Algonac is known for
Chris-Craft, which started assembly-line pleasure-boat production at its Algonac plant in the late 1920s; the city proudly calls itself the brand's birthplace.
Gar Wood, the water speed record holder who pushed the record to 125 mph on the St. Clair River in 1932.
The canals and the St. Clair delta, the largest in the Great Lakes, that earned it the "Venice of Michigan" nickname.
Pickerel fishing; the town calls itself the "Pickerel Capital of the World."
ZIP code 48001, the lowest-numbered in Michigan.
03 / What’s on
What’s on in Algonac
Nothing on our calendar in Algonac right now. Try the neighbors:
04 / What to do
If you’re in Algonac
Algonac City Park (boardwalk)
About 1,800 feet of riverfront boardwalk with shops and restaurants nearby and giant freighters sliding past.
Official site ↗Algonac State Park
A 1,550-acre state park founded in 1937, two miles north of town, with half a mile of river frontage for watching international freighters.
Official site ↗
05 / History
Algonac through the years
- 1805
John Martin settles on the riverbank.
- 1836
It's laid out as the fourth village along the St. Clair River.
- 1843
The town takes the name Algonac, coined by Henry Schoolcraft.
- 1867
Algonac incorporates as a village.
- 1937
Algonac State Park is established.
- 1967
Algonac becomes a city, administered separately from Clay Township.
06 / People
Famous names from here
- Christopher Columbus Smith the founder of Chris-Craft, who built his first wooden boat in 1874 at age 13
- Gar Wood inventor, boatbuilder and multiple water speed record holder who had a home in Algonac
- Emily Helen Butterfield born here in 1884, she became the first woman licensed as an architect in Michigan
Sources
Population and area are Census Bureau figures (Algonac city).
- 2020 Census, Michigan (PL 94-171)
- Census Bureau population estimates: cities and towns
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonac,_Michigan
- cityofalgonac.org/AboutUs
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris-Craft_Boats
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gar_Wood
- www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/geographies/reference-files/2023/delineation-files/list1_2023.xlsx
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonac_State_Park
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Helen_Butterfield
- cityofalgonac.org
Change since 2020, per the Census Bureau estimate: −2.1 percent.
Save the plan. Share the moment.
