Mendon

History

This area along the St. Joseph River was settled in the colonial period by French pioneers from Quebec and France. They traded with the Potawatomi and other Algonquian-speaking tribes of the area. After United States acquisition of this territory following the American Revolution, settlers began to enter from eastern states in the early 19th century. The original county of St. Joseph was divided by Americans into townships. Mendon township was settled in 1831. The village of Mendon was platted in 1845. On April 11, 1905, city activists who supported a public library received a matching construction grant from the Carnegie Foundation. They built the Mendon Township Library, which is one of the many Carnegie Libraries still in operation to this day. Mendon is the home of two landmarks that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Marantette House was added to the list in 1973; it was built by an ethnic French man from Detroit who had traded with the Potawatomi at their settlement of Nottawaseepe. The Marantette Bridge, built at the end of the 19th century, was listed in 2001.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,433
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,195
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,009
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,883
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,818
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,654
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,613
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,586

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2024-12-29
  1 km SSE of Hicksville, Ohio
• 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