St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan
01-Mar-2018
Around 1780, William Burnett built a trading post on a bluff overlooking the St. Joseph River as it flowed into Lake Michigan; the mouth of this waterway was an important point of Native American travel and commerce. By 1825, a mail route — albeit a very slow and sporadic one — existed between what would later become St. Joseph, Michigan and Chicago.
Fast forward a few decades, when fur trading gave way to an abundance of local orchards and farms, and ships carried cargo to other ports large and small on the Great Lakes. Today, we have trucks and trains to do just that; however, boats — sail and motor — still arrive at this port city where red brick streets are lined with wonderfully restored Queen Anne and Victorian-era homes, and turn-of-the-century commercial buildings filled with shops and restaurants.
St. Joseph, like Burnett’s trading post, sits on a hillside overlooking the St. Joseph River, the shores of Lake Michigan and the neighboring town of Benton Harbor. St. Joseph is fronted by Lake Bluff Park: A wide, green expanse of mature trees, small garden areas, statuary, benches, a seasonal hot dog cart and the.....
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