Island next to the Sault once considered for U.N. headquarters

From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:

After the Second World War, the decision was made at a conference in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, to replace the League of Nations with a new organization called the United Nations. One of the first decisions that needed to be made was where the headquarters of this new organization would be located. 

Did you know that one of the sites under consideration was Sugar Island? Located in the St Mary’s River between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Michigan, this island, located on the American side of the border, was offered as an option for the headquarters in early June of 1945. 

The mayors of both cities, Maurice Hunt, of Sault, Mich., and William J. McMeeken, of Sault, Ont., along with the councils in the twin cities put their full support behind the bid. In a cable to the selection committee, Mayor Hunt wrote: “We offer 33,000 acres, an entire island (Sugar or International Island) in the St. Mary’s River, halfway on the 4,000 mile unfortified frontier of Canada and the United States.” 

Hunt described the twin cities as “typical mid west communities located in the heart of the country of Hiawatha, the peacemaker of legendary Indians.”  The Twin cities emphasized that the United States and Canada had enjoyed 130 years of peace while Europe had gone through two World Wars and that this level of peaceful cooperation between two countries could be an inspiration to United Nations staff.      

The twin Soos had a strong backer for their proposal in Justice Frank Murphy of the United States Supreme Court, who was also a former governor of Michigan. Murphy was asked to present the proposal to the selection committee in London, which also included changing the name of the Island from Sugar Island to International Island. However, Sugar Island was not the only Canadian-American border placing a bid; others included a Maine-New Brunswick site and Navy Island at Niagara Falls.

What the Preparatory Committee thought unusual was that some of the main American and Canadian delegates refused to commit themselves to any location.  Even without their support, Sugar Island was included among 22 American applications. In December of 1945, the Preparatory Committee had selected the United States as the country that would be the new home of the United Nations Headquarters by a vote of 30-14 even with Canada favouring a European location. 

With an American location now guaranteed, it made Sugar Island’s bid even more real. Unfortunately, Sugar Island’s bid to become the United Nations Headquarters was eliminated from consideration. In a Sault Star article from Jan. 10, 1946, the contents of a cablegram sent from London to Mayor Hunt said, “United Nations thanks you for your courteous and valuable offer but regrets unable to accept because of decision to recommend locating headquarters in area immediately adjacent to New York or Boston”. 

As we now know, the United Nations Headquarters ultimately went to New York City. However, it is certainly an interesting page in the history of our two communities, to realize that both Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Ontario once aimed to be the centre of world diplomacy.   

Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here