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Situated on the north shores of Lake St. Clair, the city of New Baltimore, Michigan is a northern suburb of the Detroit Metro Region.

Crepeau Creek and Marsac Creek feed into the lake within the city limits of New Baltimore. Crepeau Creek is also known as Crapo Creek, Crapaud Creek, and Frog Creek. Orchard Lake is a small body of water in the northern part of the city.

The chief route through the city is M-29, also known as the Dixie Highway, which forms Main Street in New Baltimore. New Haven Road (Washington Street) connects the city was New Haven, about for and a half miles to the northwest. Other cities and villages within twenty miles of New Baltimore include Richmond, Mt. Clemens, Algonac, Armada, Memphis, Marine City, Roseville, Utica, Fraser, Romeo, Sterling Heights, and St. Clair. The unincorporated village of Anchorville is immediately east-northeast of New Baltimore, and Chesterfield Shores abuts the city in the southeast.

New Baltimore is a lakefront community in the northeastern corner of Macomb County. The city shares boundaries with Chesterfield Township to the north and west, Ira Township to the east, and the remainder bordering on Lake St. Clair, with about four miles of coastline.

European-American settlers first came to the area in 1796 when French hunters and trappers built homes along the waterfront, later developing what were known as ribbon farms, with a narrow frontage on the lake, and extending inland. Pierre Yax, a German explorer, is generally accepted as the community's first permanent settler after he obtained a land grant from President John Quincy Adams on July 23, 1826.

The first US government land purchase was made by Fabian Robertjean in 1820. Alfred Ashley came from Mount Clemens in 1845, building the first sawmill in the area, as well as a dock on Lake St. Clair. In 1851, he platted a townsite along both sides of what is now Washington Street as the village of Ashley. On September 20, 1851, a post office was established as Ashleyville, with Mr. Ashley as postmaster.

Having previously founded a nearby village of Ashley's Mills, Mr. Ashley opened lumber, shipping, and real estate businesses. The original village of Ashley included what is now the center of downtown New Baltimore, extending northwest along Clay, Base, and Maria streets from Anchor Bay.

The name of the Ashleyville post office was changed to New Baltimore on March 7, 1855, although the settlement bore Mr. Ashley's name until 1867, when it was incorporated as a village. New Baltimore became a city in 1931.

New Baltimore's waterfront access has always played a significant role in its economy. Early on, there were port facilities that allowed for the export of agricultural and manufacturing products, which included barrels, brooms, bricks, coffins, corsets, and creamery products, as well as lumber products and building materials. The community's development was largely along its waterfront, where shipping piers extended far into the lake.

As automobiles became more prominent, goods were no longer shipped by water. This changed the nature of the waterfront, but its importance remained. The city transitioned from a manufacturing community to a resort and commercial community, much of its activity still centered on the waterfront.

With a current population above twelve thousand, New Baltimore has increased in population significantly each census year since 1910, its only decreases being in 1890 and 1910.

The focal point of this portion of our guide is on the city of New Baltimore, Michigan. Online resources for the municipal government, as well as any local businesses, industries, schools, places of worship, organizations, attractions, events, sports programs and facilities, and recreational opportunities, are appropriate for this category.

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