Sturgis is a city 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 ...

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 11,082 at the 2020 census. The city is located at the northeast corner of Sturgis Township and at the intersection of

US 12 U.S. Route 12 or U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) ...

and M-66. Sturgis is just north of the Michigan–Indiana border and the I-80/90 Indiana Toll Road. Sturgis has been assigned a ZIP code of 49091.

Geography

Sturgis is located at . 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 city has a total area of , all land.

Transportation

Major highways

* runs east and west through the city. * runs north and south through the city. * has an exit within three miles of Sturgis.

Airport

The City owns and operates Kirsch Municipal Airport (KIRS), which is located in the northwest corner of the city. Kirsch Municipal is a general aviation airport and features two runways; the primary runway is 5,200 feet long with a secondary, crosswind runway 3,457 feet long.

Railroad

Sturgis is served by Michigan Southern Railroad Company for commercial rail service. The historic Sturgis Train Depot, built in 1895, is one of the oldest train depots in West Michigan. In 2014, it was moved across town and is now being renovated to become the home of the Sturgis Historical Museum.

History

Founding of the community

In 1827, Judge John Sturgis came to the St. Joseph Valley area in southern Michigan

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

and settled in what is now Sturgis. The original site of his home can be seen at Pioneer Park, maintained by the City of Sturgis. Legend has it that Sturgis was chosen as the town's name because Mrs. John Sturgis baked a pan of biscuits and sent them to a surveying party near their cabin. Lewis Cass, who later became governor, was part of that surveying party. When the time came to name the town, Governor Cass remembered the biscuits and was insistent that the town be named Sturgis. In 1896, Sturgis officially became a city.

Sturgis: the "Electric City"

Sturgis is known as the "Electric City" due to its municipal electric utility and

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

, which date back to the early days of the community. The City-owned electric department has served the Sturgis area since the city's inception in 1896. In 1909, the City of Sturgis approved construction of a hydroelectric dam on the St. Joseph River near Centreville, Michigan. The dam began operation on September 3, 1911, and continues to serve the community. In 2011, the City celebrated the centennial of the Dam as part of "Sturgis Dam Days."

Sister City

Sturgis is a Sister City to Wiesloch,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1966, the cities of Wiesloch and Sturgis decided to form a Sister City partnership that grew out of President Eisenhower's People-to-People program which was formed to increase cultural awareness and promote friendship. In 1967 Wiesloch formally began the cultural exchange by sending a community choir to Sturgis. In 1969 Sturgis reciprocated, sending its community choir to Wiesloch. In 1977, the exchange program was expanded to include students, who each year spend three weeks in their partner's home. In 1989 a Sturgis teacher worked in Wiesloch as part of the Sister City program. This teacher exchange continues periodically as teachers from Wiesloch work in Sturgis and vice versa. In 2016, Sturgis and Wiesloch celebrated the 50th Anniversary of their Sister City partnership.

Kickoff city for Michigan Week

For many years, in the third week of May, Sturgis served as the kickoff city for Michigan Week, a statewide celebration. Many prominent political figures walked in the parade annually. These included State Representatives and State Senators as well as the 6th District

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

and periodically the

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 ...

. With statewide celebration of Michigan Week waning, in 2010, Sturgis ended the tradition of holding the Michigan Week Kick-Off, opting to celebrate Sturgis Dam Days in June. Sturgis Dam Days was held in honor of the hydroelectric dam. The 100-year anniversary of the Sturgis Dam was celebrated at the Sturgis Dam Days in 2011. In 2012, the Sturgis community began celebrating Sturgis Fest during the last week in June.

Sturgis Rail Depot

On June 23–24, 2014, the historic Sturgis Rail Depot was moved from its location on West Main & N. Clay Streets to a more central location on W. Chicago Road. The 120-year-old building, featuring masonry walls up to 2 feet thick and weighing 304 tons, was moved by Wolfe House & Building Movers. The building was elevated by a Unified Jacking System and mounted on the Buckingham Dolly System for the quarter of a mile move across town. The Depot underwent renovations to be used as a museum by the Sturgis Historical Society.

Abbott plant for infant formula

Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, in the United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate k ...

produces

infant formula Infant formula, also called baby formula, simply formula (American English), formula milk, baby milk, or infant milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, ...

at a plant in Sturgis. In February 2022, the plant was shut down due to bacteria in some of the infant formula produced there, which led to a nationwide shortage. The plant resumed production in June 2022 after receiving FDA clearance, first making specialty formula for infants with special dietary needs. The operations at the plant were a focus of an investigation launched by the

House Oversight Committee The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

Government

The City of Sturgis is a council-manager form of government with a nine-member city commission. The city is divided into four precincts and two members of the commission are elected from each precinct with one member elected from the City at large. Members elected from precincts serve a term of four years while the member at large serves a two-year term. Each year in November the commission nominates one of its members as mayor and another as vice-mayor. The current mayor is Frank Perez and the current vice-mayor is Aaron Miller. The city commission is the legislative body, responsible for the passage of municipal ordinances and the overall direction of City. The city commission appoints a professional city manager, who manages the day-to-day operations of the city, as well as the city attorney, city assessor, city treasurer, and city clerk. The commission sets policy to be carried out by the city manager and city staff.

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 10,994 people, 4,088 households, and 2,632 families residing in the city. 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 4,595 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 73.6%

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 ...

, 1.4%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 3.2% 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 20.8% of the population. There were 4,088 households, of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% 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, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.6% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.28. The median age in the city was 32.3 years. 30% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.1% were from 25 to 44; 22% were from 45 to 64; and 12.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% 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 11,285 people, 4,293 households, and 2,726 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 4,529 housing units at an average density of . As of 2000, the racial makeup of the city was 91%

, 1%

, 0.2% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 4.4% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 20% of the population. There were 4,293 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were

living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.20. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.2% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,838, and the median income for a family was $43,381. Males had a median income of $29,508 versus $21,810 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 city was $15,990. About 11.2% of families and 16.2% 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 23.5% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Tom Bodett, author, voice actor, and radio host and spokesperson for Motel 6, was born in Illinois, raised in Sturgis. * Cameron S. Brown, former

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

of the 16th Senate District of Michigan, is from Sturgis. * Mattie A. Freeman, freethinker, abolitionist, writer, and lecturer, was born in Sturgis. * Walter T. Kelley, innovator of

Beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

methods and materials. * June MacCloy, actress, was born in Sturgis. * Perle Mesta, socialite and Ambassador to Luxembourg, was born in Sturgis. * Frank W. Parker, New Mexico Supreme Court justice, was born in Sturgis. * William Balser Skirvin, business executive and oilman, was born in Sturgis. *

Marlin Stutzman Marlin Andrew Stutzman (born August 31, 1976) is an American politician who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from Indiana's 3rd congressional district since 2025, having previously represented that dist ...

, Current congressman for Indiana's 3rd district, was born in Sturgis. *

Verne Troyer Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor and occasional stunt coordinator and performer. He was best known for playing Mini-Me in the ''Austin Powers'' film series. He had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and ...

, actor, was born in Sturgis, but grew up in the nearby town of Centreville, Michigan. * Paul Weatherwax, film editor, two-time Academy Award winner, was born in Sturgis.

References

22. ^https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2023/06/02/sturgis-man-sentenced-to-decades-in-prison-for-murder

External links

City of Sturgis, Michigan

Sturgis Chamber of Commerce

Sturgis Historical Society

Sturgis247.com

River Country Tourism

St. Joe H2O (County Tourism)
{{Authority control 1827 establishments in Michigan Territory Cities in St. Joseph County, Michigan Micropolitan areas of Michigan Populated places established in 1827