| Michigan (Berrien County), Bertrand — S0286 — Bertrand |
| | Nearby French and English trading posts were known as parc aux vaches or “cowpens” for the wild buffalo once found here. Joseph Bertrand, an early trader, married the daughter of a Potawatomi chief and through her acquired land in various Indian treaties. In 1833 this land was platted into the town of Bertrand, which soon included several large hotels and stores and a four-story warehouse—remarkable on the Michigan frontier. Bertrand became a stop for stages on the . . . — Map (db m1604) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Buchanan — L1466 — Pears Mill |
| | Pears Mill.
Built in 1853. — Map (db m1873) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), New Buffalo — Eisenhower Interstate System |
| | During the presidency (1953–1961) of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, the National System of Interstate and Defense highways was finalized and signed into law. Gaining support for the Interstate Highway System required foresight and courage by President Eisenhower as he committed the Nation to an intensive program of road building.
This unprecedented public works project provided for high-speed highway facilities to connect major population centers . . . — Map (db m1668) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), New Buffalo — L1256 — New Buffalo Welcome Center |
| | The nation’s first Highway Travel Information center opened on May 4, 1935, on US-12 at New Buffalo, not far from here. Other states followed Michigan’s lead, and by 1985 there were 251 travel information centers across the nation. The New Buffalo center was built by the Michigan State Highway Department, now the Michigan Department of Transportation, to welcome motorists entering the state via US-12. It was relocated at this site with its more modern building, on April 6, 1972, after the I-94 . . . — Map (db m1593) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), New Buffalo — The Iron Brigade / The Twenty-Fourth Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment |
| | The Iron Brigade
The Iron Brigade became one of the most celebrated military units on the
American Civil War (1861–1865). Wearing distinctive black hats, they were
easily recognised by friend and foe alike. The five volunteer regiments in
the brigade were the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin, the 19th Indiana and the
24th Michigan. These regiments ranked among the most gallant and effective
of the Union Army. U.S. 12, which intersects nearby, is named the
Iron Brigade Memorial . . . — Map (db m4117) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — L0477 — Ferry Street School |
| | Constructed in 1867 at a cost of nearly $3,000, the Ferry Street School opened in January, 1868 as Niles’s school for “colored children.” In 1870 the Niles school system was integrated, and this facility closed. It reopened as an integrated school in 1873. The west wing was added in 1903. From 1956 to 1975 the School for Exceptional Children was located here. In 1975 concerned citizens began restoring the original building to its nineteenth century style. Nineteenth century one-room . . . — Map (db m1635) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — S0004 — Fort St. Joseph |
| | The French fort built here in 1691 controlled southern Michigan’s principal Indian trade routes. Missionaries and fur traders were here already. The fort became a British outpost in 1761. Two years later it was one of the forts seized by Indians during the uprising of Chief Pontiac. Still later, traders made it their headquarters. In 1781 Spanish raiders ran up the flag of Spain at the fort for a few hours. — Map (db m1628) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — L1643 — Four Flags Hotel |
| | The Four Flags Hotel opened with much fanfare on July 6, 1926. The newly formed Niles Hotel Corporation had raised $350,000 to build a hotel on the site of the Pike House hostelry. Chicago architect Charles W. Nicol designed the hotel, which was touted as fireproof and modern. The hotel’s name was the first to recall the four nations that asserted sovereignty over the area: France, Great Britain, Spain and the United States. According to local legend, Al Capone stayed at the Four Flags. — Map (db m1629) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — S0655 — John and Horace Dodge / The Dodge Brothers |
| | John and Horace Dodge.
Auto barons John (1864–1920) and Horace (1868–1920) Dodge were born and raised in Niles. During the 1830s, their grandfather, Ezekiel, had migrated from Massachusetts to Niles, where he ran a steam engine shop. John and Horace’s father, Daniel, operated the business during their youth. The Dodges lived in a small house that stood on this site. John once recalled they “were the most destitute kids in town, often going without shoes in cold . . . — Map (db m1707) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — L1874 — Michigan Central Railroad Niles Depot |
| | Michigan Central Railroad Niles Depot Built in 1892. This Property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places — Map (db m1636) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — S0339 — Ring Lardner |
| | Sportswriter, humorist, sardonic observer of the American scene, Ring Lardner was born in the house across the street on March 6, 1885. Possibly the best-known American author in the 1920s, he began his career writing sketches of sporting events for the Niles Sun and later worked for papers in Chicago and New York, where he wrote a popular syndicated column. Beginning in 1914 the Saturday Evening Post began publication of a series of articles that were to become his best known . . . — Map (db m1632) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — S0344 — Saint Mary’s |
| | The Roman Catholic Church in Niles traces its origin to the Indian Mission established at nearby Fort St. Joseph in the late 1600’s. Reestablished at Bertrand, three miles south of Niles, in the 1830s, the mission moved into town in 1849 and was renamed St. Francis’s. In 1866 the cornerstone of the present building was laid and on December 11, 1870, the church was dedicated to St. Mary. Designed by Rufus Rose of Niles with later modifications by Father John Cappon, the church was completed in . . . — Map (db m1606) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — L1902 — Second Baptist Church |
| | In 1851 the Reverends J.W. Hackley and D.G. Lett organized the Second Baptist Church under the Anti-Slavery Baptist Association. The first of four churches—a log building—was erected on the southeast corner of Sixth and Ferry streets. In 1872 the building was moved to the northeast corner, where the present church stands. During the construction of the third church in 1950–51 the congregation was renamed the Mount Calvary Baptist Church. In 1971 a new sanctuary was added to the structure. — Map (db m1607) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — L0475 — The Chapin House / Henry Austin Chapin |
| | The Chapin House.
This Queen Anne style house, completed in 1884, was the Henry A. Chapin family home until 1902. In 1932, when the City of Niles bought the property at auction for $300, the Chapin children stipulated that it be used only for civic purposes. Now serving as the Niles City Hall, the house is built of local brick and terra-cotta tile. The interior is ornamented with leaded glass windows and transoms, handcarved woodwork, and stenciled ceilings. In 1939 the Works Progress . . . — Map (db m1706) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — L0062 — Trinity Church |
| | This is the oldest existing church structure in Niles, located in the oldest Episcopal parish in the Diocese of Western Michigan. The first Episcopal service in Niles was conducted by Bishop Philander Chase in 1832. The parish was organized in 1834. In that year there were 14 houses in Niles. The first edifice, of frame construction, was built on this site in 1836 under the direction of Rev. James Selkrig, the first rector. The present church was completed in 1858. On May 7, 1876, the Rev. . . . — Map (db m1634) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Niles — L0734 — Wesley United Methodist Church |
| | In 1839 circuit riders from Ohio began preaching in Niles, using the barroom of a local hotel. In 1832 nine worshipers formed the Methodist class that grew to be the Wesley United Methodist Church. They dedicated their first house of worship in 1839, and by 1840 they had organized a Sunday School to teach reading and religion. In 1862 the congregation laid the cornerstone for the present sanctuary. The structure was completed in 1863. The Dodge Brothers of motor car fame attended Sunday School . . . — Map (db m1605) |
| Michigan (Berrien County), Three Oaks — S0239 — The Dewey Cannon |
| | This cannon, captured in the Spanish-American War by Admiral Dewey, was presented to Three Oaks when its citizens raised $1,400 for a memorial to the men of the battleship Maine. This was the largest contribution, per capita, of any community in the nation. “Three Oaks Against the World,” a local paper proudly boasted. This park was dedicated October 17, 1899, by President William McKinley, and others. Presentation of the cannon took place on June 28, 1900. Guest of honor was Helen . . . — Map (db m1603) |
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