Berrien Springs, Michigan
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Berrien Springs is a village in Berrien County in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. The population was 1,910 at the time of the 2020 census. The village is located within Oronoko Charter Township.


History

Berrien Springs, like Berrien County, is named for John M. Berrien. "Springs" was added after mineral springs were discovered in the area. The village is the site of the earliest European-American settlement in Oronoko Township. It was first known as "Wolf's Prairie" in reference to the 1,000-acre
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
in which it was situated. The site had been a village under the leadership of a
Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...
chief named Wolf. The first permanent settlers (according to European-American terms), John Pike and his family, did not arrive until 1829.Coolidge, Orville W. (1906)
''A Twentieth Century History of Berrien County, Michigan''
pp. 198–99. The Lewis Publishing Company.
Francis B. Murdoch was a co-founder of the village and the first lawyer in the county. (His surname was spelled as 'Murdock' in some records.) In 1831 he built a two-story log house, which is the oldest surviving example of its kind in Michigan. In 1973 this house was moved near courthouse square, to be part of that historic complex. Murdoch was known in the
Antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...
period for representing enslaved African Americans in
freedom suits Freedom suits were lawsuits in the Thirteen Colonies and the United States filed by enslaved people against slaveholders to assert claims to freedom, often based on descent from a free maternal ancestor, or time held as a resident in a free st ...
, in which they tried to gain freedom. Michigan was established as a free territory and later state. It went by the principle of "once free, always free". If slaveholders brought enslaved people to the state, the latter were judged to be free. The village of Berrien was
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted in 1831. The Berrien Springs post office opened with the name "Berrien" on December 4, 1832; this was changed to Berrien Springs on April 18, 1836. Berrien Springs served as the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
from 1837 until 1894, when
St. Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orth ...
was designated as the county seat.


1839 courthouse

Berrien Springs courthouse, designed by local architect Gilbert B. Avery, was completed in 1839, making it the oldest courthouse in the state. The
Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
-style courthouse emulated the architecture of ancient Greece with its large columns, triangular
pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
and white paint. After the county seat was moved in 1894, the building was put to various uses and briefly was vacant. In 1967, efforts to preserve and restore the courthouse were started. Such restoration was completed by 1975. The restored courthouse square also features the Midwest's most complete surviving mid-nineteenth century county government complex. Today the square houses a county museum and archives. The courthouse serves as headquarters for the Berrien County Historical Association. Its original buildings are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. The property is dedicated to the preservation of Berrien County's history and does this through permanent and temporary exhibits, programs, events, and community outreach.


Christmas pickle capital of the world

Berrien Springs was once known as the
Christmas pickle The Christmas pickle is an American Christmas tradition. A decoration in the shape of a Pickled cucumber, pickle is hidden on a Christmas tree, with the finder receiving either a reward or good fortune for the next year. There are a number of diff ...
capital of the world. A festival was established by the Berrien Springs-
Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...
Chamber of Commerce, the
Berrien County Historical Association The Berrien County Historical Association (BCHA) is a historical association located in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Established in 1968 as the Berrien County Historical Commission, the organization partners with Berrien County, Michigan to operate ...
(BCHA), and the village. They featured parades, games, activities, and a Pickle Prince and Princess contest. The event ran until the mid-2000s. In 2021, the Pickle Festival was revived by the Village, the BCHA, and the Berrien Springs Community Library.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The village is situated on the St. Joseph River.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 1,800 people, 756 households, and 463 families living in the village. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 837 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 72.7%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 12.9%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.4% Native American, 5.1% Asian, 0.4%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 3.8% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino people of any race were 12.9% of the population. There were 756 households, of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the village was 34.6 years. 22.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 13.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.2% were from 25 to 44; 23.3% were from 45 to 64; and 13.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 1,862 people, 732 households, and 475 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 787 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 77.12%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 11.06%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.43% Native American, 4.03% Asian, 0.16%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 4.30% from other races, and 2.90% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino people of any race were 8.92% of the population. There were 732 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05. In the village, 23.0% of the population was under the age of 18, 11.9% was from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,396, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $31,467 versus $21,750 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the village was $16,093. About 12.4% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.


Schools


Elementary

*Mars Elementary – public, grades K-2 *Sylvester Elementary – public, grades 3–5 *Berrien Springs Middle School – public, grades 6–8 *Trinity Lutheran School – private, religious (
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
), grades preK – 8 *Ruth Murdoch Elementary – private, religious (
Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
), grades K-8 *Village SDA Elementary – private, religious (Seventh-day Adventist), grades K-8


Secondary

* Andrews Academy – private, religious (Seventh-day Adventist), grades 9–12 * Berrien Springs High School – public, grades 9–12; team name: Shamrocks; team colors: green and white * Blossomland Learning Center, run by Berrien County RESA – preschool through age 26


Post-secondary

*
Andrews University Andrews University (Andrews) is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flag ...
is located outside of town, but still in Oronoko Charter Township. It is served by the Berrien Springs post office.


Notable people

*
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
, professional boxer, considered among the greatest heavyweights in the sport's history; owned a home in the Berrien Springs area * Francis B. Murdoch, attorney and co-founder of Berrien Springs * Regan Upshaw, defensive lineman for five
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
teams; born in Berrien Springs (1975)


References


Notes


Sources

* {{authority control 1831 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1831 Villages in Berrien County, Michigan Villages in Michigan