Constantine, Michigan
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Constantine is a village in St. Joseph 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 2,076 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Constantine Township. U.S. Highway 131 (Main Street in the village) leads to
Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...
to the north and to the
Indiana Toll Road The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a controlled-access toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line. It has been advertised as the "Main ...
six miles to the south. The St. Joseph River, navigable from source to outlet, passes through the village, emptying in
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
to the west. The telephone provider is Verizon and the electric provider is AEP Indiana Michigan Power. Located in an agricultural area, Constantine is known as the Seed Corn Capital of the World, as both
Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...
and Pioneer having their biggest facilities located here. Constantine is the birthplace of
Harry Hill Bandholtz Harry Hill Bandholtz (December 18, 1864 – May 7, 1925) was a United States Army career officer who served for more than a decade in the Philippines. He was a Major general (United States), major general during World War I, and the US represent ...
, a US brigadier general in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and head of the US Military Mission to
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. Constantine has its own public high school, home of the Falcons.


History

The
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, ...
and related Native Americans historically had villages along the St. Joseph River and other waterways. Several of their leaders signed the Treaty of Chicago, agreeing to cede much of their land in southwestern Michigan, Indiana and Ohio country. The village was platted in 1831 at the Fawn River's confluence with the St. Joseph River, where three European-American families had settled. A
gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...
, the first in the county to run by water, had been built here in 1830. It was first named Meeks Mill after Johnathon Meeks, who built the first grain mill. A Yankee from New York or New England, he moved to several other frontier areas, each time having a town named after him. When using names of classical figures later came into vogue, the village was renamed for the Roman emperor
Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
. The Main Street of town is a historic center with richly detailed, two-story commercial buildings of the late 19th century. It is designated US 131 through the village and connected to newer roads outside.


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.


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 2,076 people, 728 households, and 522 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 829 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.5%
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 ...
, 1.8%
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 ...
, 0.9% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 2.4% from other races, and 3.0% 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 of any race were 3.3% of the population. There were 728 households, of which 45.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% 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, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.3% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.27. The median age in the village was 31.2 years. 31.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.2% were from 25 to 44; 22% were from 45 to 64; and 8.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.2% male and 50.8% 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 2,095 people, 763 households, and 557 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 836 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.42%
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 ...
, 0.62%
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 ...
, 0.14% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.48% from other races, and 2.48% 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 of any race were 1.43% of the population. There were 763 households, out of which 43.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% 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, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.12. In the village, the population was spread out, with 32.0% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $40,428, and the median income for a family was $44,236. Males had a median income of $35,469 versus $23,152 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 $15,542. About 14.1% of families and 15.5% 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 20.9% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.


Arts and culture


Tourism

John S. Barry, the fourth and eighth
Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...
resided in Constantine. Barry's home, the Governor John S. Barry House, is 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 ...
since 1972.


Fire department

The Constantine fire department was founded in 1883. Currently the fire department is a combination fire department. The fire department provides firefighting service along with medical first responder (MFR) services to the village and township of Constantine as well as the western half of Florence township. The department is also called station 4. This is because of the fire department numbering system in Saint Joseph county making them station #4.


Staffing

Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm the station is staffed with a single firefighter to respond to calls. When the station is not staffed paid on-call firefighters staff the department from home. There are currently 16 firefighters on the department of that 1 is part time, 2 are part time / paid on call, and the rest are paid on-call firefighters.


Apparatus

The fire department currently has seven apparatus. Engine 411 - This is a 3000 gallon pumper tanker that is used for structural fires. It was needs this large amount of water due to the lack of hydrants within the townships. Engine 421 - Is a 1000 gallon rescue pumper. It is used for car accidents mostly and provides a second out pumper. Tanker 416 - The tanker hold 3000 gallons of water and a small pump. Owing to the townships having no hydrants is a needed piece of equipment as structure fires need large volumes of water. Brush 415 and 425 - With a large majority of the fire departments coverage area being rural also including the Three Rivers state game area wild land fires our a common occurrence. This requires the need of a 4x4 vehicle that can gain access to the woods and fields to extinguish the fires. Both of these units are based on pick up trucks and carry 250 gallons of water. They are both lifted and have 4 wheel drive to allow access to normally inaccessible areas for the larger fire trucks. Rescue 413 - This truck is the main truck for physical type rescues. It is a rolling tool box. Its most common response is to car accidents as the unit carries the Jaws of Life. Rescue 423 - This unit is used for medical responses. The truck is the most used in the department as medical type calls are the largest percentage of the call base. This unit responds along with an ambulance. As no ambulance is based in Constantine the fire department can normal be on scene long before an ambulance can be and start to provide aid to a sick or injured person. This truck also carries ice rescue equipment.


Notable people

*
Harry Hill Bandholtz Harry Hill Bandholtz (December 18, 1864 – May 7, 1925) was a United States Army career officer who served for more than a decade in the Philippines. He was a Major general (United States), major general during World War I, and the US represent ...
, US brigadier general in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and head of the US Military Mission to
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, was born here. * John S. Barry (1802–1870), fourth and eighth
governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...
*
Elisha Newton Dimick Elisha Newton "Cap" Dimick (April 24, 1849 – January 6, 1919) was an American politician and pioneer of modern-day Palm Beach County, Florida. Born in Michigan in 1849, the Dimick family moved to the area now known as Palm Beach, Florida, in 1876 ...
(1849-1919), Florida legislator and first mayor of
Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...
, born in Constantine. * George J. Sweetland (1872–1954) physician, athletic administrator and college coach *
Joseph R. Williams Joseph Rickelson Williams (November 14, 1808 – June 15, 1861) was an American politician, a Republican Michigan Senate Senator, and the 14th lieutenant governor of Michigan. He was also the first president for the Agricultural College of the ...
(1808-1861), first President of Michigan Agricultural College, later to become Michigan State University. He was also the 14th Lt. Governor of Michigan in 1861.


References


External links


Constantine history



Constantine Michigan Website
{{Coord, 41, 50, 28, N, 85, 40, 07, W, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title Villages in St. Joseph County, Michigan Villages in Michigan Populated places established in 1831 1831 establishments in Michigan Territory