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| 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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Early Background
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The
evidence of Mound Builders suggests an even earlier settlement
but the earliest known date is 1721 when the Pottawatomie
Tribe left Wisconsin and migrated to this area. At the
close of the Revolutionary War, England relinquished Michigan
to the United States and in 1787 it became part of the
Northwest Territory. The Ordinance of 1787 governing the
Territory prohibited slavery and provided one section
of land in each 36 sections for school purposes. Major
General Arthur St. Clair was governor.
 The
population of the entire Northwest Territory was estimated
at 7,820 whites and 65,000 Indians. In 1805 William Hull
was made Governor of the newly formed Territory of Michigan.
The largest Indian Settlements were in the northeasterly
portion of St. Joseph County and the southeasterly part
of Kalamazoo County, but apparently the white settlers
were able to introduce the Indians to whiskey, and by 1821
Chief Topinabee sold most of the present County to the
whites for annual payments of $5,000 a year for 20 years.
The Ottawa Tribe was to receive $1,500 a year for a blacksmith
and teacher plus $1,000 a year forever.
Following this treaty the St. Joseph area was attached
to Monroe County in 1822. In 1827, Judge John Sturges
and John Thurston cleared ten acres of land and planted
wheat, and by the following year the Judge and his family
lived in a cabin in what is now called Maple Crest. It
was in that same year that George Buck became the first
settler in what is now Sturgis.
Before 1830, an elderly Indian Chief established a toll
station on the old trail near Mottville, and charged all
travelers a fee. The first mill in the area was built
by Mr. Klinger near Mottville, and William Taylor opened
a tavern in the Village. Mr. Taylor later became the first
sheriff of the County.
As early as 1827, Florence Township was organized, and
in 1828 Meek's Mill was established and became known as
Constantine in 1831. Constantine was widely known as the
Chicago of Southern Michigan. Also in 1828 Fawn River
Township began. It contained the one-building Village
of Freedom on what is now US-12 and County Farm Road.
Michael Beadle settled in Flowerfield Township in 1829
and built a grist mill in 1831. In the same year a carding
mill and a saw mill were built. Park Township was formed
in 1830 and Burr Oak in 1831.
Settlement of the County was rapid. White Pigeon, laid
out in 1829, had a population of 800 in 1831. Sherman
Township in 1829 included Sturgis, Fawn River, Nottawa
and Colon Township. |
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| DATE
FOUNDED |
| Nov.
4, 1829 |
| FOUNDING
LOCATION |
| White
Pigeon |
| POPULATION |
| 62,422 |
| SIZE |
| 520
Sq. Miles |
| QUICK
FACT |
| The
first settlement in St. Joseph County was by the Pottawatomie
Tribe in 1721. |
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