Port Huron–Sarnia Border Crossing
Port Huron–Sarnia Border Crossing | |
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Location | |
Country | United States; Canada |
Location |
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Coordinates | 42°59′55″N 82°25′24″W / 42.998700°N 82.42347°W |
Details | |
Opened | 1836 |
US Phone | (810) 985-7125 |
Canadian Phone | (519) 336-3096 |
Hours | Open 24 hours |
Website https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/port-huron |
The Port Huron–Sarnia Border Crossing connects the cities of
Both the US and Canada border stations are open 24 hours per day. The
History
The US Port of Entry was established in 1836, when a license to provide commercial ferry service between Port Huron and what then was known as Port Sarnia. The license was issued to a Canadian man named Crampton who operated a sailboat. In the 1840s, a man named Davenport, also from Port Sarnia, operated a pony-powered vessel. Steam-powered vessels and paddle-wheelers soon followed, but the first vessel capable of carrying automobiles didn't arrive until 1921.[2]
In the 1860s, the
Most immigrants who entered Port Huron in the 19th century continued their trip to the Midwest through a train depot where
The Blue Water Bridge was completed in October, 1938, and the ferry operations ceased less than a year later. New passenger-only ferry service ran from 1946 to 1957. A second, parallel span of the bridge was completed in 1997.
Border control and records
Prior to 1893, Port Huron was essentially an open border. While products were inspected and taxed, there was no control on the flow of people, and in fact in February 1886 the Department of the Treasury ordered the Bureau of Customs to cease even local attempts to count the number of immigrants. In 1893, the US Immigration Service began inspecting Port Huron-bound European immigrants in Montreal, but there was no confirmation done at the ferry ports on the St. Clair River. The United States Border Patrol was established in 1924, providing firmer immigration control, but Canadian citizens were not considered immigrants until 1965 and did not need a visa to cross the border for an indefinite stay.[5] Record keeping and hygiene screening began around 1902.
Border control is currently managed at tollbooths on either side of the Blue Water Bridge, while international ferry service has been discontinued.
See also
- List of Canada–United States border crossings
- St. Clair Tunnel, a railroad tunnel between Port Huron and Sarnia
References
- ^ "Border Crossing/Entry Data". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. US Dept. of Transportation. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Elford, Jean Turnbull. "Sarnia-Port Huron Ferries". Sarnia Historical Society. from Canada West’s Last Frontier. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ Hilton, George Woodman (1962). The Great Lakes car ferries. Berkeley, California: Howell-North. pp. 13–14.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Jack (March 1922). "The Up-To-Date Police Force of Port Huron". The Police Journal: A Monthly Review of Police Progress, Problems and Activities. 9 (3). Police Journal Publishing Company.
- ISBN 0822942615.