[2] Located along the shores of Lake St. Clair and inhabited by French settlers as early as 1710, during which time the area was referred to as L'anse Creuse, the future St. Clair Shores would remain mainly a rural farming area populated by largely French and German immigrant families into the early 20th century.

During these years, the village was the home to many popular roadhouses, blind pigs, and gambling establishments, such as the Blossom Heath Inn.

[5] St. Clair Shores' lakefront location and proximity to Canada coupled with a receptive and often participative community made it an advantageous haven for rum runners, and the area was actively involved in the rum-running era of Prohibition.

Local residents, politicians, and law enforcement of the era were known to sometimes conflict with both state and federal officials over their attempts to regulate these illegal, but economically vital, activities within the community.

[4] During the next few decades, dozens of subdivisions were platted through the local farmland, but most were not developed in earnest until after the Second World War, when St. Clair Shores became the fastest-growing suburb of Detroit during the 1950s.

In 1955, a fire destroyed some of the attractions and buildings within the once-popular park, and this, coupled with changing public tastes, accelerated its demise.

By 1959, the remaining park amusements and buildings were demolished to make room for the greatly enlarged Jefferson Beach Marina.

All that remained of the once grand amusement park was its large, ornate lakefront dance coliseum, which for years thereafter was relegated to use as a marina storage facility and marine supply store until it, too, was destroyed by fire.

St. Clair Shores is home to the longest-consecutively running preliminary program pageant of the Miss America Organization in Michigan and among the longest-running in the United States.

Dating back to its years as a popular lakefront entertainment destination, St. Clair Shores has a long connection to Detroit's musical history.

In addition to the many past roadhouses that featured numerous national performing artists of the era, other notable music-related locations include the former Car City Records store,[10] whose employees have included many from the Detroit music scene; the former Crows Nest East,[11] a short-lived, but popular music venue of the late 1960s; and the former Shirley's Swinger Lounge.

[12] Individuals and groups who played at or frequented these venues went on to regional and national success, including Bob Seger, the MC5, Iggy Pop, and The Frost.

[11] St. Clair Shores, one of a few communities to lay claim to the "Hockeytown USA" moniker before the Detroit Red Wings and the city of Detroit, is renowned throughout both the US and Canada as a long-time youth hockey hotbed, largely related to its long-successful St. Clair Shores Hockey Association.

St. Clair Shores Lakeview High School went undefeated during its famed 1973 state high-school championship season.

Although its population has dropped from its peak in the early 1970s due to end of the baby boomer era and continued urban sprawl, St. Clair Shores continues to be a popular suburb of Detroit, owing largely to its advantageous lakefront location, its municipal park system, its fine recreational sports programs and facilities, and its three public school districts.