Boasting one of the oldest continuously active courthouses in the state of Michigan, Lapeer was platted in 1833, four years before Michigan became a state. The Lapeer County Courthouse, originally built in 1846, is one of the 10 oldest courthouses in the United States, and one of the 50 most significant buildings in Michigan. Lapeer was a village until 1869 when it became a city.

Folklore claims Lapeer was derived from the naming of the south branch of the Flint River, which flows northwestward over quite a long distance of rocky bed in Lapeer County. French and Indian traders frequently passed over this section of the county and through the river, ultimately naming our city for the stone that lay at the river bottom. The translation of stone in French is Le Pierre; the English translation of the Canadian French accent of this word is Lapeer. The river was named Flint, synonymous with stone.

It is also believed that our 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. Resources City of Lapeer Wikipedia

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