St. Clair Inn Celebrates 100 Years With Historic Tours, Prohibition Stories and Centennial Events

The landmark St. Clair River hotel marks its centennial with a November history tour, public open house and anniversary gala celebrating a century of Michigan hospitality.

ST. CLAIR, Mich. — A century after opening its doors along the St. Clair River, the historic St. Clair Inn is preparing to celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of public events, including a guided history tour on Nov. 21, 2026.

The anniversary program will take visitors through the hotel’s past, from its beginnings as a community-backed business venture in 1926 to its years as a fashionable gathering place for vacationers, celebrities and local residents.

The St. Clair Inn Centennial Presentation and Walking Tour is being organized by Port Huron Museums and the St. Clair County Genealogy and History Society. Historian Chrissy Gorzen will lead the presentation and walking tour.

The organizers say the program will examine the inn’s connection to Prohibition-era parties, prominent visitors, and some unusual chapters in the hotel’s history, including a weekend when it reportedly hosted 12 weddings.

Watch: St. Clair Inn, 1926: The Town That Built Its Own Hotel

A Hotel Built Through Local Ambition

When the St. Clair Inn opened in 1926, the city was already closely tied to Great Lakes shipping, manufacturing, and river commerce.

The hotel grew out of a partnership between wealthy St. Clair residents and the local Rotary Club. The goal was to provide accommodations and a social gathering place that would serve the community while attracting visitors to the waterfront.

The Tudor Revival-style building became a recognizable part of the city’s riverfront. Its location offered guests a front-row view of commercial freighters traveling the St. Clair River, a major shipping route connecting Lake Huron with the lower Great Lakes.

The inn also developed a reputation as a place for weddings, dinners, meetings and special occasions. Its history reflects a period when communities invested in substantial hotels as symbols of local economic confidence.

Prohibition, Celebrities and a Century of Stories

One of the inn’s more colorful chapters dates to Prohibition, when alcohol was banned nationally from 1920 through 1933.

The St. Clair River was an important route for illegal liquor shipments from Canada during those years. The hotel’s organizers say the centennial program will discuss stories of secret parties held during Prohibition.

The historical presentation will also address the hotel’s celebrity connections and its role in local social life.

The organizers have not published a complete list of the famous visitors or detailed evidence about the reported parties. Those subjects could provide additional material for historical research as the anniversary approaches.

The inn’s past reminds us that Michigan’s riverfront hotels were more than overnight accommodations. They served as community gathering places and helped connect smaller cities with travelers, business interests, and the wider Great Lakes region.

Historic Hotel Returned to Service in 2019

The St. Clair Inn changed ownership and experienced periods of decline during its first century. After closing for several years, the property underwent an extensive restoration and reopened in 2019.

The renovation returned the hotel to active use while retaining much of its historic character.

Today, the property includes 85 guest rooms, three private cottages, restaurants, bars and event facilities. Its riverfront setting remains one of its principal attractions.

The restoration also gave the building a new role in St. Clair’s tourism economy. Rather than losing an aging landmark, the community retained a hotel that connects its present-day waterfront with its early 20th-century history.

Centennial Walking Tour Set for Nov. 21

The historical presentation will take place at the St Clair Historical Museum, 308 S. Fourth St.

Tickets cost $15 to $20, and the genealogy society says special pricing information is available to its members.

Following the tour, organizers encourage visitors to dine at The Dive, the inn’s riverfront restaurant.

More Centennial Celebrations Planned in November

The Nov. 21 history tour is part of a larger anniversary celebration. The hotel has also announced two events earlier in the month.

A formal celebration featuring dinner, live entertainment, special guests, dancing and a champagne toast. Overnight guest room packages are also advertised.

The hotel has published details about both events on its official centennial celebration page.

A Century of History Along the St. Clair River

For St. Clair County residents, the anniversary is more than a hotel birthday. It marks the survival of a building that has witnessed changes in tourism, transportation, and community life along one of Michigan's busiest waterways.

When the inn opened, passenger steamships and commercial vessels were familiar sights on the Great Lakes. A century later, lake freighters still pass the hotel, though the travel industry and surrounding community have changed considerably.

The centennial program offers an opportunity to examine how a hotel founded through local investment became a lasting part of St. Clair's identity.

For residents interested in Michigan history, the November events provide a chance to visit a restored landmark and learn about the people who helped establish it.

More information and tickets are available through Port Huron Museums.