Lapeer, Michigan
| Lapeer, Michigan | |
|---|---|
| City | |
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 Location of Lapeer, Michigan |
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| Coordinates: 43°3′7″N 83°18′59″W / 43.05194°N 83.31639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Michigan |
| County | Lapeer |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council–manager |
| • Mayor | William J. Sprague |
| • Mayor Pro tempore | Thomas Robinet |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.38 sq mi (19.11 km2) |
| • Land | 7.13 sq mi (18.47 km2) |
| • Water | 0.25 sq mi (0.65 km2) |
| Elevation | 856 ft (261 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 8,841 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 8,821 |
| • Density | 1,240.0/sq mi (478.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 48446 |
| Area code(s) | 810 |
| FIPS code | 26-46040 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0630146 |
| Website | www.ci.lapeer.mi.us/ |
Lapeer is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Lapeer County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,841. Most of the city was incorporated from land that was formerly in Lapeer Township, though portions were also annexed from Mayfield Township and Elba Township. The city government is politically independent of all three townships. Lapeer is in southern Michigan, east of Flint, on the Flint River. The name "Lapeer" is a corruption of the French la pierre, which means "the flint". (See List of Michigan county name etymologies.)
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.
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 settler in Lapeer was Alvin N. Hart, who was born in Cornwall, Connecticut, on February 11, 1804. He came to Lapeer in 1831 and platted the Village of Lapeer, November 8, 1833. The plat was registered in Pontiac on December 14, 1833, in the County of Oakland; four years before Michigan became a state and Lapeer became a county.
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