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Michigan · Blue Water Area · #712
St. Clair County, Michigan
At the southern tip of Lake Huron where the St. Clair River flows to Lake St. Clair and the Blue Water Bridge connects Michigan to Ontario, St. Clair County holds Port Huron - the birthplace of Thomas Edison - and the marine traffic crossing point for the Great Lakes system.
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Office: St. Clair County Emergency Management – confirm current contact via stclaircounty.org.
St. Clair County Central Dispatch – non-emergency (810) 985-8115; Text Caster alert partnership provides road closing, National Weather Service, and crime alert notifications.
Sheriff: St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office – 1170 Michigan Road, Port Huron, MI 48060 | (810) 987-1700 | Fax (810) 966-4302; Sheriff Mat King (with the department since 1998, appointed interim Sheriff in November 2020, elected 2021), Undersheriff Jim Spadafore; secret witness tip line CAPTURE (810) 987-6688 (rewards up to $1,000); Marine Division – 5793 Pte Tremble Rd, Algonac, MI 48001, (810) 987-1735.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. St. Clair County was named for Arthur St. Clair, a Revolutionary War general and Governor of the Northwest Territory; created 1820, organized 1821.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-94, I-69, and the Blue Water Bridge (to Sarnia, Ontario) serve Port Huron, the county seat, at the south end of Lake Huron where it meets the St. Clair River; Port Huron is the eastern terminus of both I-69 and I-94 and the starting point for the Lake Huron Circle Tour.
Notes: Port Huron is genuinely nicknamed the “Maritime Capital of the Great Lakes.”
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: St. Clair County Courthouse – Port Huron, MI 48060.
Notes: Port Huron is genuinely the boyhood home of Thomas Alva Edison, whose family moved there in 1854 when he was seven; young “Al” conducted his first chemistry and electricity experiments in the basement of the family’s home near Fort Gratiot, and worked as a newsboy and telegraph operator out of the Fort Gratiot rail depot from 1860-63 – that same depot now houses the Thomas Edison Depot Museum. The homesite is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1997). Port Huron is also home to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, Michigan’s oldest lighthouse (current structure built 1829), and served as an important terminus of the Underground Railroad prior to the Civil War.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: St. Clair County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via stclaircounty.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Port Huron-area public library address/phone via stclaircounty.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, the Thomas Edison Depot Museum and Riverwalk, the Huron Lightship Museum, and the Blue Water Bridge waterfront are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Thomas Edison boyhood-home connection and Michigan’s oldest lighthouse are among the most nationally recognized local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: St. Clair County Equalization Department – confirm current contact via stclaircounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
St. Clair County Animal Control – confirm current address via stclaircounty.org; dog licensing and adoption application available through the county website.
Blue Water Area Humane Society – East China area; founded in 1887 by concerned local citizens, making it one of the state’s oldest animal welfare organizations; a full-service shelter caring for companion animals and working to end pet overpopulation through spay/neuter. Hours: Tue-Fri 9:30 AM-4:30 PM, Sat 9:30 AM-3 PM, closed Sun/Mon.
Humane Society of St. Clair County/SNAP (Spay/Neuter/Adopt/Protect) – a separate no-kill, foster-based 501(c)(3) offering low-cost spay/neuter (no income requirements); (810) 329-7627 (SNAP). Hours: Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 10 AM-5 PM, closed Wed/Sat/Sun.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: St. Clair County – confirm current contact via stclaircounty.org.
NOTES: St. Clair County is the second county in the twelfth and final batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine Thomas Edison boyhood-home connection and Michigan’s oldest lighthouse are among the most nationally recognized local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About St. Clair County
St. Clair County occupies the most marine-significant position in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula – Port Huron sits where Lake Huron drains through the St. Clair River into Lake St. Clair, carrying the world’s largest concentration of freshwater through one of its narrowest channels. The marine traffic visible from Port Huron’s Blue Water area – ore boats, salties, and tankers navigating the river on their way through the Great Lakes system – is one of the most impressive displays of working maritime commerce in the United States. The Lightship Huron, preserved at Port Huron’s waterfront, is a National Historic Landmark.
Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, but was raised in Port Huron and sold newspapers on the Grand Trunk Railway as a boy – the Thomas Edison Depot Museum preserves the depot where he began his entrepreneurial career. Marysville and Marine City are the county’s other significant communities. The county’s Lake Huron shoreline and freshwater access give it summer recreation economy and waterfront property values that supplement the manufacturing and commercial base.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Michigan assesses property at 50% of true cash value, with taxable value capped under Proposal A. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Review. Michigan has no estate tax below $5 million; no Michigan inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Blue Water Area Agency on Aging
600 Grand River Avenue, Port Huron, MI 48060
Phone: (810) 987-8811
Senior Services
Blue Water Area Agency on Aging
600 Grand River Avenue, Port Huron, MI 48060
Phone: (810) 987-8811
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
200 Grand River Ave., Port Huron, MI 48060
(810) 989-6905
Genealogy
County-level record sources
St. Clair County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated St. Clair County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
St. Clair County Probate Court St. Clair County Building, 201 McMorran Boulevard, Port Huron, MI 48060 St. Clair County is in southeastern Michigan on the St. Clair River, seated in Port Huron.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Michigan probate is governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq.
Transfer by Affidavit (Small Estate Affidavit) – under MCL 700.3982/700.3983, available when the estate’s gross value (after funeral and burial expenses) doesn’t exceed a threshold that’s adjusted annually for inflation (roughly $50,000-$53,000 in recent years). No real estate can be involved. At least 28 days must pass after death before this affidavit can be used. The affidavit isn’t filed with the court; it’s presented directly to whoever holds the asset (a bank, for instance), along with a death certificate.
Petition and Order for Assignment (PC 556) – a small estate process for estates at or below the same statutory threshold, but this one CAN include real property. An heir or the person who paid the funeral bill files this petition with the probate court; the judge reviews and signs the order, and there’s a filing fee plus a statutory inventory fee based on estate value.
Informal Probate – the standard track for most estates above the small-estate threshold. Filed using Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative (PC 558); the court issues Letters of Authority (PC 573) to the personal representative without a hearing when the application is straightforward.
Formal/Supervised Administration – required when the will is contested, there’s a dispute over who should serve as personal representative, or the estate needs ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for probate
Gather the death certificate, the will (if any), and an inventory of the decedent’s assets to determine which path fits.
File the appropriate petition or application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent lived.
For informal probate, the court reviews the application and issues Letters of Authority appointing the personal representative, typically without a hearing.
The personal representative gathers and inventories assets, notifies and pays valid creditors, and – no earlier than 12 months after appointment – files a Sworn Closing Statement (PC 584) for informal probate, or a Petition for Complete Settlement (PC 585) followed by a court Order of Complete Settlement (PC 586) for formal administration.
What it costs
Michigan probate generally runs 7 to 18 months and costs roughly 3% to 7% of the estate’s value in typical cases.
Filing fees vary by petition type; a statutory inventory fee, set by MCL 600.871, is calculated based on the estate’s total value and applies to most probate filings.
Michigan does not require an attorney for probate, though many people use one for anything beyond a very simple estate.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1170 Michigan Rd., Port Huron, MI 48060
(810) 987-1700
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
200 Grand River Ave., Port Huron, MI 48060
(810) 989-6905
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
mclaren.org (Port Huron — quality regional hospital; major St. Clair County anchor)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: St. Clair County Health Department – confirm current phone via stclaircounty.org.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Port Huron
Population: 160,000
Area: 724 sq mi
Established: 1821
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in St. Clair County facilities via Amazon.
