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St. Joseph, Michigan
Location of St. Joseph, Michigan
Location of St. Joseph, Michigan
Coordinates: 42°5′53″N 86°29′3″W / 42.09806, -86.48417
Country United States
State Michigan
County Berrien
Area
 - Total 6. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The political units and divisions of the United States include The 50 states (four of these being officially styled as Commonwealths) which are typically Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. The boundaries of the 83 counties in the US state of Michigan have not changed substantially since 1897. Berrien County is a county located in the extreme southwest of the U Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. 0 sq mi (15. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. 5 km²)
 - Land 3. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 4 sq mi (8. 9 km²)
 - Water 2. 5 sq mi (6. 6 km²)
Elevation 630 ft (192 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 8,789
 - Density 2,561. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 3/sq mi (988. 9/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
FIPS code 26-70960[1]
GNIS feature ID 0636762[2]
Aerial view of the harbor at St. Joseph, Michigan. The St. Joseph River flows into Lake Michigan through the city.
Aerial view of the harbor at St. The Eastern Time Zone ( ET) of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of North America and the west coast of South America UTC−5 is the Time offset used in the North American Eastern Time Zone during Standard time and in the North American Central Time Zone during Daylight saving time ( DST UTC−4 is the Time offset used in the Atlantic Standard Time Zone in Canada in winter and the North American Eastern Time Zone during Federal Information Processing Standards ( FIPS) are publicly announced standards developed by the United States Federal government for use by all non-military The Geographic Names Information System ( GNIS) is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout Joseph, Michigan. The St. Joseph River flows into Lake Michigan through the city.

St. Joseph is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,789. It lies on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, about 60 miles east-northeast of Chicago. Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one located entirely within the United States. The St Joseph River (locally known as the St Joe) is a river approximately 210 mi (338 km long in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. It is the county seat of Berrien County[3]. A county seat is a term for an Administrative center for a County, primarily used in the United States. Berrien County is a county located in the extreme southwest of the U St. Joseph is the site of the Venetian Festival, an event that draws thousands annually to its shores. Venetian festivals are held in cities in Europe and North America It is also home of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE was founded in 1907 and is based in St

St. Joseph and Benton Harbor are locally known as the "Twin Cities. Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the US State of Michigan. Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are born in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time "

Contents

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census 5 km² (6. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 0 sq mi). The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. 3. 4 square miles (8. 9 km²) of it is land and 2. 5 square miles (6. 6 km²) of it (42. 64%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 8,789 people, 4,117 households, and 2,058 families residing in the city. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population The population density was 2,561. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 3 per square mile (989. 3/km²). There were 4,594 housing units at an average density of 1,338. 8/sq mi (517. 1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90. 31% White, 5. 11% African American, 0. 41% Native American, 2. 39% Asian, 0. 02% Pacific Islander, 0. 46% from other races, and 1. 31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1. 29% of the population.

There were 4,117 households out of which 22. 0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37. 6% were married couples living together, 9. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** 4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50. 0% were non-families. 44. 1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14. 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1. 99 and the average family size was 2. 77.

In the city the population was spread out with 19. 0% under the age of 18, 9. 5% from 18 to 24, 30. 6% from 25 to 44, 22. 7% from 45 to 64, and 18. 2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96. 0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92. 9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,032, and the median income for a family was $51,328. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $26,395 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,949. Per capita income means how much each individual receives in monetary terms of the yearly income generated in the country About 4. 3% of families and 6. 6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6. The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of Income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate Standard of living in a given country 1% of those under age 18 and 6. 3% of those age 65 or over.

The demographics of St. Joseph contrast sharply with those across the river in Benton Harbor.

White Black Average Household Income
St. Joseph 90. 31% 5. 11% $37,032
Benton Harbor 5. 49% 92. 40% $17,471

History

Downtown St. Joseph, May 2007
Downtown St. Joseph, May 2007

The mouth of the St. Joseph River at present day St. Joseph was an important point of Amerindian travel and commerce, as it lay along a key water route between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. The Laurentian Great Lakes are a chain of freshwater lakes located in eastern North America, on the Canada–United States border. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to Both the Miami and Potawatomi used this route and would use the area as a camp. The Miami are a Native American tribe originally found in Indiana, southwest Michigan and Ohio, and now living also in Oklahoma The Potawatomi (also spelled Pottawatomie and Pottawatomi, among many variations) are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi [4] The St. Joseph River also allowed for connection with the Sauk Trail, which was the major land trail through Michigan. In 1669, the mouth of the river was discovered by European explorers. French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort Miami on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. René Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de LaSalle ( November 22, 1643 &ndash March 19, 1687) was a French Fort Miami was a Fort on the bank of the St Joseph River at the site of the present-day city of St [5] There in 1679, he waited for the ship Le Griffon which never returned. Built by René Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle, Le Griffon is considered to have been the first full-sized Sailing ship on the upper Great Once the ship was deemed lost, LaSalle and his men made the first land crossing of the lower peninsula by Europeans.

The next permanent white settler in St. Joseph was William Burnett who around 1780 started a trading post. The post traded food, furs and goods with places including Detroit, Mackinac and Chicago. [6] St. Joseph was originally platted in 1829 as the village of Newburyport, named after a coastal city in Massachusetts. Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 38 miles (61 km northeast of Boston. The St. Joseph river mouth was straightened through a channel and piers were added later. The first lighthouse in St. Joseph battles Chicago's original lighthouse as the first to be built on Lake Michigan. Newburyport changed its name to St. Joseph when it was incorporated in 1834. [6]

The first water route across Lake Michigan between St. Joseph and Chicago began as a mail route in 1825, but service was sporadic until 1842 when Samuel and Eber Ward began a permanent service. That lasted eleven years. Before the rise of large ship companies on Lake Michigan, service was done primarily by owner-operated boats. With the rise in shipping in Benton Harbor and the rise in tourism in St. Joseph, permanent and larger operations began operating out of the ports. [7]

On October 11, 1898, Augustus Moore Herring took one of his gliders, fitted with a motor, to Silver Beach in St. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Augustus Moore Herring (1867-1926 was an American aviation pioneer who sometimes is claimed by Michigan to be the first true aviator of a motorized Heavier-than-air aircraft Terminology A "glider" is an unpowered Aircraft. The most common types of glider are today used for sporting purposes Joseph. Herring’s machine lifted ever so slightly off the ground and actually flew for seven seconds. Eleven days later, the inventor made another flight of ten seconds. While Herring had a powered heavier-than-air-craft, he did not have a way to control it. It was left to the Wright brothers to perfect controlled flight five years later, and give themselves and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, a place in history that may have ended up belonging to Herring and St. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. Joseph. [8]

Transportation history

Two major shipping companies operated between St. Joseph and Chicago during the last half of the 19th century, the Goodrich Transportation company and the local firm of Graham and Morton. They dominated the traffic at St. Joseph for more than 100 years, although other smaller companies did operate during this time.

Starting in 1874, Henry Graham and J. Stanley Morton began operating a steam line out of St. Joseph. Their collaboration would become the Graham and Morton Transportation Company. Through vigorous competition, they won the war to become the major carrier out of St. Joseph. Goodrich stopped service to the Twin Cities in 1880. The company grew fast and over the fifty plus years of its existence became the second largest line on Lake Michigan behind only Goodrich. [7]

In 1924 G & M merged with Goodrich. Like most other ports along Lake Michigan, St. Joseph saw a huge drop in traffic during the early years of the twentieth century and this was exacerbated by the Great Depression. The route between Chicago and St. Joseph did survive until the 1950s. [7]

On January 29, 1870, the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad extended a rail line from New Buffalo to St. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad (C&MLS is a Defunct railroad which operated in Michigan between 1869 and 1878, and as the New Buffalo is a city in Berrien County in the US state of Michigan. Joseph. This railroad connected St. Joseph to Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Detroit and Chicago. Muskegon (mus-kēg'n is a city in the US state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 40105 Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. (Prior to this, the only connection St. Joseph had to these other cities was by water. ) The line was reorganized as the Chicago and West Michigan Railway and then was incorporated into the Pere Marquette Railroad. The Chicago and West Michigan Railway (C&WM is a Defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan between 1881 and 1899 The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States.

Business and industry history

In 1911, Louis, Emory, and Frederick Upton began a business that produced household washing machines. A washing machine, or washer, is a machine designed to clean Laundry, such as Clothing, Towels and sheets The term is mostly applied The business soon became a boom and has continued to grow to this day. In 1929, Upton Machine Company merged with Nineteen Hundred Corp. , taking the latter name. The company began marketing a line of appliances known as the "Whirlpool" brand in 1948. Within the next decade, Nineteen Hundred changed its name to Whirlpool. Today, Whirlpool Corporation is the largest manufacturer of major home appliances and maintains a large presence in St. Whirlpool Corporation ( is a Fortune 500 company and a global manufacturer and marketer of major Home appliances,with annual sales of approximately $18 billion more Joseph and nearby Benton Harbor. Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the US State of Michigan. Whirlpool has its world headquarters outside Benton Harbor. [9]

In 1891 the Silver Beach Amusement Park was opened on land between the lake and mouth of the river in St. Joseph. Logan Drake and Louis Wallace bought the land from the Pere Marquette Railroad and added cottages to lure tourists to the lake front. The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States. As the park aged and grew in popularity, the pair added many attractions, including concessions, games, pool, a boardwalk and different rides. The first roller coaster was built in 1904 and was called the Chase Through the Clouds which was replaced by the Velvet roller coaster (renamed the Comet). The roller coaster is a popular Amusement ride developed for Amusement parks and modern Theme parks LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first Among the most popular attractions were the carousel and the Shadowland Ballroom, built in 1927. A carousel ( carrousel in French) is an Amusement ride consisting of a rotating platform with seats for passengers During the 1960s and 1970s, the buildings decayed and the crowds decreased. Finally, crime in the park caused it to be shut down by police in 1970. [10]

County seat

After a bitterly fought political contest, St. Joseph was named the seat of Berrien County in 1894. The three largest towns in the county, Benton Harbor, St. Joseph and Niles, each wanted to be the county seat, but none had a majority vote. Niles is a city near South Bend, Indiana in Berrien County in the U Once St. Joseph and Benton Harbor voters combined their votes, St. Joseph had enough to win.

Government

City government is organized as a council-manager government. In the council-manager form of government an elected city council (typically between five and 11 people is responsible for making Policy, passing Ordinances voting Appropriations There is a city commission with five members, who are elected at large. City elections are held in November of even-numbered years; at each election, three commission seats become open. The two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes receive four-year terms, while the candidate receiving the third-greatest number of votes receives a two-year term. At the first meeting following each election, the commission selects from its own number a mayor and mayor pro tem for the following two years. The city commission is a part-time body, typically meeting twice each month to act as a legislative body and set general policies. Day to day operations are delegated to a contracted city manager by the name of Frank Walsh. A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a City, in a council-manager form of city government

Major city facilities include the City Hall and Police Station at 700 Broad Street; the Department of Public Services at 1160 Broad Street; the Fire Department at 915 Broad Street; the Maud Preston Palenske Public Library at 500 Market Street; the John and Dede Howard Ice Arena at 2414 Willa Drive; the Water Treatment Plant at 1701 Lions Park Drive; and Riverview Cemetery at 2525 Niles Road.

The city Water Treatment Plant provides drinking water to the communities of the Lake Michigan Shoreline Water and Sewage Treatment Authority, which serves Lincoln Charter Township, Royalton Township, St. Joseph Charter Township, west of the St. Lincoln Charter Township is a Charter township of Berrien County in the U Royalton Township is a Civil township of Berrien County in the U St Joseph Charter Township is a Charter township of Berrien County in the U Joseph River, and the villages of Shoreham and Stevensville. Shoreham is a Village in Berrien County in the US state of Michigan. Stevensville is a village in Berrien County in the US state of Michigan. Wastewater treatment is provided through the Joint Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is jointly owned by the cities of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, and which also serves the LMSWSTA communities, Benton Charter Township and portions of Sodus Township. Benton Charter Township is a Charter township of Berrien County in the U Sodus Township is a Civil township of Berrien County in the U

Current City Commission
Name Title Year First Elected
Robert Judd Mayor 1997
Michael Garey Mayor pro tem 1999
Jeffery Richards 1984
Mary Goff 1986 (a)
Fran Chickering 2007 (b)

Education

Transportation

2007 Shipping Report
Shipper Good Number of Vessels Tonnage
Consumers Limestone, sand and slag 27 277,106
Dock 63 Limestone, stone and sand 13 171,187
Lafarge Bulk Cement 27 185,250
Total 67 633,543

Previous year tonnage includes:

Past Tonnage
Year Vessels Tonnage
2000 69 770,189
2001 87 1,118,964
2002 82 665,917
2003 90 794,572
2004 85 767,975

Media

St. Lafarge () is a French industrial company specialising in four major products Cement, Construction aggregates Concrete and Joseph is served by The Herald-Palladium newspaper, whose offices are in nearby St. Joseph Township, is part of the South Bend/Elkhart television market, and is served by sister radio stations WCSY, WCXT, WHIT, WIRX, WSJM, WSJM-FM, and WYTZ as well as some in the South Bend market. The Herald-Palladium is a newspaper distributed in the Southwest Michigan region serving all or part of Berrien, Cass, Van Buren St Joseph Charter Township is a Charter township of Berrien County in the U WCSY (1037 FM is a Radio station broadcasting an Oldies format See also WSJM-FM WCXT (983 FM "The Coast" is a Radio station broadcasting a Hot adult contemporary format serving southwestern Whit or Isis amongst the unsaved is a Novel by the Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 1995 WIRX (1071 FM, "Rock 107 WIRX" is a Radio station owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting located in St See also WSJM-FM WSJM (1400 AM "NewsTalk 1400" is a Radio station broadcasting a News-talk format See also WSJM (AM WSJM-FM is a Radio station broadcasting a Simulcast of WSJM 1400 AM, a News - Talk - Sports WYTZ (975 FM, "975 Y Country" is a Radio station broadcasting a Country music format

St. Joseph in popular culture

The book The Other Side of the River by Alex Kotlowitz documents the death of an African American teenage boy through the eyes of locals in Benton Harbor and St. Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the US State of Michigan. Joseph. The book delves into race relations between the two cities.

The controversial book A Million Little Pieces takes place in part in and around the city of St. A Million Little Pieces is a controversial Memoir by James Frey. Joseph. Many of the disputed parts took place in the area. James Frey went to St. Joseph High School. Some members of the area including local police helped to show that the book was not a complete factual recount but partly a fictional retelling of events.

References

  1. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
  2. ^ USGS GNIS: St. Joseph, Michigan
  3. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
  4. ^ French and Indian Footprints
  5. ^ Tour of St. Joseph
  6. ^ a b History of Saint Joseph, Michigan History Magazine, http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/extra/swmich/stjoehistory.pdf
  7. ^ a b c Lake Michigan Passenger Steamers by Hilton, George (ISBN 0804742405).
  8. ^ Augustus Herring and the Wright Brothers http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0207.shtml
  9. ^ Whirlpool History
  10. ^ Silver Beach Amusement Park Overview
  11. ^ Harbor Report, City of St. Joseph

External links

Coordinates: 42°05′53″N 86°29′03″W / 42.09806, -86.48417

A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system.
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