| Background
History on St. Joseph County |
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| St.
Joseph County by John Marvin |
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| Sections |
Intro
Costly Victory
Changing Times
County Government Inaugurated
Historical Firsts
Early Background
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Costly Victory
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But
victory was costly to Chief Elkhart, for the vanquished
Pottawatomie carried away with them, in their flight,
Princess Mishawaka, daughter of the fierce Shawnee leader.
Herewith, began the romance of the princess, a romance
of St. Joseph County that was to separate her from her
people but to bring her happiness with her scout lover.
Chief Elkhart set up his village in the favorable spot
where the Pottawatomie had their teepees - where the
Rocky River, the Portage River and the St. Joseph River
came together, the present site of Three Rivers.
 The
oak openings, rivers, lakes and prairies of St. Joseph
County and the hunting, the fishing and the crops they
afforded were too dear to the Pottawatomie to be given
up without a desperate struggle. Chief Pokagon called
into council of war the Ottawa's of the Kalamazoo Valley,
under Chief Waukazoo, and the Ottawa's of the Grand River
Valley, under Chief Okemos.
The three bands of Indians decided to unite and drive
out the invader. This they did, attacking from all sides
by fleets of canoes and by land. The Shawnees had
entrenched
themselves and were ready to meet one band, but when two
other bands made attacks from other directions the Shawnees
were taken by surprise and routed. They fled in panic.
Later, old Chief Elkhart sued for peace, departing with
his followers to the Valley of the Wabash, from whence
they had come. |
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| DATE
FOUNDED |
| Nov.
4, 1829 |
| FOUNDING
LOCATION |
| White
Pigeon |
| POPULATION |
| 62,422 |
| SIZE |
| 520
Sq. Miles |
| QUICK
FACT |
| In
Three Rivers, the Rocky, the Portage, and
the St. Joseph rivers
come together. |
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