Battle Creek

History

In about 1774, the Potawatomi and the Ottawa Native American tribes formed a joint village near the future Battle Creek, Michigan. The first permanent European settlements in Battle Creek Township, after the removal of the Potawatomi to a reservation, began about 1831. Westward migration from New York and New England had increased to Michigan following the completion of the Erie Canal in New York in 1824. Most settlers chose to locate on the Goguac prairie, which was fertile and easily cultivated. A post office was opened in Battle Creek in 1832 under Postmaster Pollodore Hudson. The first school was taught in a small log house about 1833 or 1834. Asa Langley and several workers (Adrian Godbey, Jackson Morgan, Ethan baker, etc.) built the first sawmill in 1837. A brick manufacturing plant, called the oldest enterprise in the township, was established in 1840 by Simon Carr and operated until 1903. The township was established by act of the legislature in 1839. In the antebellum era, the city was a major stop on the Underground Railroad, used by fugitive slaves to escape to freedom in Michigan and Canada. It was the chosen home of noted abolitionist Sojourner Truth after her escape from slavery. Battle Creek figured prominently in the early history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was the site of a Protestant church founding convention in 1863. The denomination's first hospital, college, and publishing office would also be constructed in the city. When the hospital and publishing office burned down in 1902, the church elected to decentralize, and most of its institutions were relocated. The first Adventist church (rebuilt in the 1920s) is still in operation. World Heavyweight Champion Jack Johnson was once arrested here for marrying his White wife and…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water, making Battle Creek the third largest city in Michigan by area, and one of only three incorporated municipalities in the state over in size. *Approximately 60% of the city's land is developed. Of the undeveloped land, 38% is zoned agricultural, 26% is zoned general industrial, 17.5% is zoned residential, 16% is the Fort Custer Army National Guard Base/Industrial Park, and 2.5% is zone commercial. *After Battle Creek Township merged into the city of Battle Creek in 1983, the city's declining population rose by nearly 18,000 new residents. Prior to the merge, the city measured . *Battle Creek is variously considered to be part of West Michigan or Southern Michigan. * Bedford Charter Township * Emmett Charter Township * Pennfield Charter Township * City of Springfield * Urbandale

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,811
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,103
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  9,582
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,468
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  9,218
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  8,399
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,289
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,159

Largest nearby schools

• Lakeview High School
  High · BATTLE CREEK · 1,383 students · 21.3:1 ratio
• Lakeview Middle School
  Middle · BATTLE CREEK · 1,164 students · 18.2:1 ratio
• Battle Creek Central High School
  High · BATTLE CREEK · 1,108 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Harper Creek High School
  High · BATTLE CREEK · 904 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• Harper Creek Middle School
  Middle · BATTLE CREEK · 834 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Endeavor Charter Academy
  Elementary · BATTLE CREEK · 679 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Pennfield Senior High School
  High · BATTLE CREEK · 653 students · 23.3:1 ratio
• Pennfield Dunlap Elementary
  Elementary · BATTLE CREEK · 469 students · 18:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2015-06-30
  5 km NNE of Burlington, Michigan
• M 4.2 — 2015-05-02
  5 km S of Galesburg, Michigan
• M 3 — 2012-01-26
  5 km NE of Topeka, Indiana