County note shelf
Saint Joseph County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Saint Joseph County. This shelf has 4 practical notes and 14 local stories.
18 notes
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- History and culture Where Michigan's land was sold: the White Pigeon Land Office The 1831 U.S. Land Office in White Pigeon — the oldest surviving land office in Michigan — sold a quarter-million acres of frontier at $1.25 an acre.
- History and culture Constantine, the Seed Corn Capital of the World Constantine, platted in 1831 as Meeks Mills, grew into a seed-corn powerhouse the Michigan Legislature formally named 'Seed Corn Capital of the World.'
- History and culture The Marantette House, where a trading post met a treaty Patrick Marantette built his 1835 Greek Revival house beside a Potawatomi trading post on the St. Joseph at Mendon; a descendant later ran General Motors.
- History and culture The Anglican monks of St. Gregory's Abbey St. Gregory's Abbey near Three Rivers is a rare Benedictine monastery in the Episcopal Church, where monks have kept the seven-times-a-day office since 1946.
- History and culture The auditorium three women left to Sturgis Sturgis got a grand 1955 civic auditorium because three women — the Sturges sisters and Emma Young — willed their fortunes to building it.
- History and culture The Burr Oak farmer who put the railroad on three wheels George Sheffield of Burr Oak patented a three-wheeled railroad velocipede in 1879 after his hand-built track car helped stop a train wreck.
- History and culture Kirsch, the curtain-rod maker of Sturgis Charles Kirsch founded a drapery-hardware company in 1907 that grew into a major Sturgis employer and a name found on curtain rods worldwide.
- History and culture Sturgis, the Electric City, and its own dam Sturgis has run its own electric utility since 1896 and built a hydroelectric dam on the St. Joseph River that began making power in 1911.
- History and culture The Langley Covered Bridge near Centreville The Langley Covered Bridge over the St. Joseph River north of Centreville is, at 282 feet, Michigan's longest covered bridge, built in 1887.
- History and culture Colon: the Magic Capital of the World Colon is known as the Magic Capital of the World, with Abbott Magic, the annual Magic Get-Together, and Lakeside Cemetery's magician graves.
- History and culture Three Rivers, where three rivers meet Three Rivers is named for the meeting of the St. Joseph, Rocky, and Portage rivers, with a historic downtown and St. Gregory's Abbey.
- History and culture The Tiny Michigan Town That's the 'Magic Capital of the World' Tiny Colon, Michigan is the self-proclaimed 'Magic Capital of the World,' home to the planet's largest magic-supply maker and more buried magicians than any cemetery on earth.
- History and culture The Centreville Grange Fair, since 1851 The St. Joseph County Grange Fair in Centreville has been running since 1851 and remains a major late-September county tradition.
- History and culture Michigan's oldest Amish community The Centreville and Nottawa area is home to Michigan's oldest and largest Amish settlement, with buggies, farms, shops, and roadside stands.
- Home and property Buying on (or near) a St. Joseph County lake? A few things to know St. Joseph County lake homes can come with managed lake levels, special assessments, lake boards or associations, and lake-specific boating rules.
- Home and property Outside town, most St. Joseph County homes are on a well and septic — inspect before you buy Most St. Joseph County township homes use private wells and septic systems, and the county does not require a sale-time inspection.
- Money and taxes Buying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxes Michigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
- Money and taxes In Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not one Most Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.