The History of Kalamazoo MI

The city of Kalamazoo began as a gift to the United States. The land which today is Kalamazoo served as a fur trading post in the late 1700s. The area was deeded to the U.S. by the Potawatomi Indians in 1827, and in 1829 permanent settlers began arriving, led by Titus Bronson. When the town was platted in 1831, it was called "Bronson" after its leader. But Bronson was considered an eccentric and argumentative man, and two years after founding the village and naming it after himself, he was accused, tried, and convicted of stealing a cherry tree. Villagers petitioned for a name change, so by the time Michigan was admitted to the Union on January 26, 1837, Bronson had been renamed Kalamazoo.

The name is derived from a Potawatomi Indian expression, "Kikalamazoo," meaning "the rapids at the river crossing," or "boiling water." Intrigued by the name, many poets, authors and songwriters have penned Kalamazoo into their works, the most notable of which may be Glenn Miller's I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo. In the early 1900s, three ships were also christened Kalamazoo.

Historically, the city has been referred to by many names. It's been called "The Paper City," for its many paper and cardboard mills; "The Celery City," after the crop once grown in the muck fields north, south, and east of town; and "The Mall City," after construction of the first outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the United States in 1959. The fertile soil on which Kalamazoo is built has led the area to most recently be called the "Bedding Plant Capital of the World," as the county is home to the largest bedding plant cooperative in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of plants, many varieties of which are displayed throughout the county's parks and boulevards, are sold each year to home gardeners and landscapers nationwide.

Kalamazoo was once the manufacturing domain for Checker cabs, Gibson guitars, Kalamazoo stoves, Shakespeare fishing rods and reels, and the Roamer automobile. Parchment paper, made from vegetable byproducts, gave the city of Parchment in Kalamazoo County its name. In 1885, a physician from Hastings, Michigan, invented a pill making machine and developed the first readily dissolvable pill. William Erastus Upjohn moved to Kalamazoo to seek his business future and started the Upjohn Pill and Granule Company, now called Pharmacia Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and worldwide leader in pharmaceuticals.

The area's cities, Kalamazoo and Marshall in particular have many areas designated as historic districts. Notable examples of Gothic, Italianate, Greek Revival, Sullivanesque, Queen Anne, Art Deco and other architectural styles accent their stately old avenues, providing a glimpse of restored grandeur from the previous century. Frank Lloyd Wright also found Kalamazoo quite right for his "Usonian"style of homes, built here during the late 1940s. Many of his designs are found in and around Kalamazoo.

Historic and Interesting places in or near Kalamazoo

• Kalamazoo Mall -- the first outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the United States was begun with the closing of Burdick Street to auto traffic in 1959. The four block long mall, stretching from Lovell Street on the South to Eleanor Street on the north, has been restyled to match the attributes of the Arcadia Commons development, where the new Kalamazoo Public Museum anchors the north end of the mall. In 1999, however, two blocks of the mall were modified to accommodate auto traffic after a period of political debates on the issue.

• Bronson Park -- Kalamazoo's traditional downtown centerpiece is Bronson Park, named for the community's founder, Titus Bronson. The park's notable features include an Indian mound on its south side; a fountain designed by Alfonse Ianelli depicting the brutality of white settlers toward Native Americans; and a sculpture, "The Children May Safely Play" by Kirk Newman, in the west reflecting pool. The park lost many tall, old trees when it was ravaged by a 1980 killer tornado that swept through downtown Kalamazoo. Abraham Lincoln made his only public speech in Michigan here; a historic marker honors the event.

• Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital Water Tower -- Off Oakland Drive north of Howard Street is the 175-foot tall landmark on the hilltop campus of the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital. The water tanks in the 1895 Queen Anne style tower are no longer in use.

• Stuart Avenue, South Street and Vine Historic Districts -- Stately old houses line the grand streets of these neighborhoods, giving passerby a glimpse of restored grandeur from the previous century. The South Street district is west of South Westnedge Avenue; the Stuart Avenue district is in the area of the West Kalamazoo Avenue and Stuart Avenue intersection.

• Frank Lloyd Wright homes -- Parkwyn Village, at Taliesin Drive and Parkwyn drive in southwest Kalamazoo, and the 11000 block of Hawthorne south of Galesburg. Designed as a cooperative neighborhood by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the late 1940s, Parkwyn Village contains examples of Wright;s Usonian style of home. More Wright homes are found in a rural setting south of the city of Galesburg.

• Kalamazoo City Hall -- An acclaimed 1931 example of Art Deco style, City Hall at 241 W. South Street has a three story, skylit atrium. Visitors are welcome.

• Underground Railway Home -- On Cass Street east of U.S. 131 in Schoolcraft. Built in 1835 by the county's first doctor, Nathan Thomas, this house once was a link in the network of safe houses that hid former slaves. It's open for tours by appointment only. Call the Schoolcraft Historical Society at 616-679-4689 for more information.

KALAMAZOO SPORTS AND RECREATION

Opportunities for leisure time and physical activities abound, offering the best of both spectator and participatory sports and recreation. Whether you're a high school athlete, Saturday afternoon golfer, or a let's-watch-football kind of person, the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek area has it all.

Where else can you drive a few minutes and tee off for a round of golf without waiting? And on great courses too! Where else can you watch nationally ranked tennis players go for deuce? All of the greats have played in Kalamazoo. And where else can you go to watch a top minor league baseball team (Michigan Battlecats)? What about an international soccer competition or Amateur World Series? Not to mention two Big-Ten Conference teams and Notre Dame within a two-hour drive. One hour further and you have two cities with NBA, NHL, NFL and major league baseball teams.

INDUSTRY

Industry has been a major force in Kalamazoo County's economy, providing paychecks to almost 30 percent of the area's employees. The diversity of our industrial base helps provide protection to much of our work force during tough economic times. As a result, Kalamazoo County traditionally has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Michigan.

The strength of our industrial base has been built on a wide range of products, including pharmaceuticals, paper products, robots, machinery, automotive components, plastics, medical equipment, flight controls ane chemicals.

The Pharmacia Corporation, one of the Fortune 500, is one of the area's largest employers, with 6,300 workers. The paper industry and the transportation equipment industry account for another 7,300 jobs. We're proud of the industries in Kalamazoo County, because they're not only job providers-- they're active participants in our community's growth.

Kalamazoo County is home to more than 450 diversified manufacturing firms. Major industries include:

• Chemical products
• Pharmaceuticals
• Paper and allied products
• Fabricated metals
• Transportation equipment
• Automotive suppliers
• Aircraft controls
• Plastics
• Bedding plants
• Medical and surgical equipment

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