Niles, the City of Four Flags

Niles calls itself the City of Four Flags, and the nickname is earned: over its long history, four different nations have claimed this spot on the St. Joseph River — France, Britain, Spain, and the United States. The reason is Fort St. Joseph, which French explorers and Jesuits established here in 1691. For ninety years it was one of the most important fur-trading posts on the Great Lakes, passing from French to British hands, briefly seized by a Spanish raiding party in 1781, and finally becoming American.

Over time the fort was abandoned, the town of Niles grew up around it, and its exact location was actually lost for generations. Then, starting in 1998, archaeologists from Western Michigan University — working with the city and local volunteers — rediscovered the site and have been carefully digging it up ever since, pulling out thousands of artifacts. Each summer the dig hosts public events where you can watch the history come out of the ground.

You can see the finds and learn the whole story at the Fort St. Joseph Museum, part of the Niles History Center.

Fort St. Joseph Museum / Niles History Center, 508 E. Main Street, Niles · nilesmi.org