Battle Creek is a city in
the U.S. state of Michigan
, in
northwest Calhoun County
, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the
principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan
Metropolitan Statistical Area,
which encompasses all of Calhoun county. As of the
2000 census, the city had a total
population of 53,364.
_002.jpg/180px-The_Kellogg_House_(battlecreekcvb)_002.jpg)
Kellogg House
Battle Creek, known as the "Cereal City", is the world headquarters
of
Kellogg Company, founded by
Will Keith Kellogg in 1906, whose
brother,
Dr. John Harvey
Kellogg, invented cold breakfast cereal as an alternative to
the traditional meat-based breakfast. It is also the home of
Post Cereals, which was part of
General Foods Corporation
at one time, then
Kraft Foods, and is
now part of
Ralcorp.
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, superintendent of the
Battle Creek Sanitarium, was
featured in the
T.C. Boyle novel The Road to Wellville and the
movie of the same
name.
In 1982, voters approved merging Battle Creek Township with the
city of Battle Creek, under pressure from
Kellogg Company, which threatened to move
its headquarters away from Battle Creek if the city and township
did not merge.
Battle Creek is currently the third-largest
city in Michigan by area, after Detroit
and Grand
Rapids
.
Name origin
According to Midwest historians Mary Healy and Benjamin Niewenhuis,
the name "Battle Creek" had its origin in a skirmish between a
government land survey party led by
Colonel John Mullett and two Indians.
According to various accounts, while Mullett and his group were
surveying an area several miles from the present city in the winter
of 1823-1824, the work of the survey party was interrupted by
Native Americans. Two members of the party, who remained at the
camp, were attacked by two Indians, reportedly attempting to steal
the party's provisions. During the fight, shots were fired from a
rifle, and the two white men subdued the Indians, inflicting a
serious injury to one of them. The survey party promptly left the
area and did not return until June 1824, after Governor Cass had
settled the issue with the Indians. Due to this incident, the
nearby stream was called the
Battle
Creek River. The river was formerly known by the Native
American name of Waupakisco, to which some attribute a folk
etymology for the name. By this account, the name
Waupakisco or
Waupokisco was a reference to an
earlier battle fought between Native American tribes before the
arrival of white settlers. However, Virgil J. Vogel establishes
that this native term had "nothing to do with blood or
battle".
Geography and climate
- According to the United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
43.7 square miles (113.1 km²), of which, 42.8 square
miles (110.9 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles
(2.2 km²) of it (1.92%) is water, making Battle Creek the
third largest city in Michigan by area, and one of only three
incorporated municipalities in
the state over 40 sq mi in size. Of this area, part of the
Fort Custer Army National Guard Base/Industrial Park takes up or
approximately 10.6% of the total land area of the city.
- After Battle Creek Township merged into the city of Battle
Creek in 1983, the city's declining population rose by nearly
18,000 new residents, but the city continues to decline in
population.
- Battle Creek is considered to be part of Central Michigan.
Culture
Print media
- The local daily newspaper is the Battle Creek
Enquirer, owned and operated by Gannett Company
- The Battle Creek Shopper is a weekly publication that provides
classified adds as well as community news.
- Scene
Magazine is a monthly publication that provides community
information.
- Senior Times is a monthly publication providing
community information for seniors.
Festivals
Music
Battle Creek is the home to Michigan's oldest Symphony,
The Battle Creek Symphony Orchestrawhose home
is at the W.K. Kellogg Auditorium in downtown Battle Creek. The
symphony is currently conducted by Anne Harrigan.
Sports
In 2010 Battle Creek will host the eighth edition of the
International H.K.D Games.
Sports teams

Downtown Battle Creek
The
Battle Creek Knights are a
minor league basketball team. They were a charter member of the
International Basketball
League (IBL) and went 21-0 during the league's first season in
2005, winning the championship.
The team's home is Kellogg Arena
. After announcing in July 2009 that they
would sit out the 2009 season, in October the team announce they
would return to play in the International Basketball League.
The
Battle Creek Bombers are a
collegiate baseball team, a member of the
Northwoods League, who began play in 2007.
The team's
home is C.O.
Brown Stadium
.
The
Battle Creek Revolution
are a member of the
All American Hockey
League and began play in 2008. The team's home is
The Rink Ice Arena.
The
Battle Creek Blaze is a not-for-profit
semi-professional football team that plays traditional
American football (
NFL
rules) and is a member of the
United States Football
Alliance (USFA). The team benefits the
Lance Armstrong Foundation and
earns funds to promote cancer awareness.
Former sports teams
The
Michigan Battle
Cats/
Battle Creek
Yankees/
Southwest
Michigan Devil Rays were a Class A
minor league baseball team that played
in the
Midwest League from 1995
through 2006.
The team's home was C.O.
Brown Stadium
.
The
Battle Creek Crunch, were a
member of the
Great
Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL),that began play in 2006.
They played only one season in Battle Creek before ceasing
operations due to financial trouble.
The team's home was
Kellogg
Arena
.
Demography
As of the
census of 2000, there were 53,364
people, 21,348 households, and 13,363 families residing in the
city. The
population density was
1,246.0 per square mile (481.1/km²). There were 23,525 housing
units at an average density of 549.3/sq mi (212.1/km²). The
racial makeup of the city was 74.65%
White, 17.80%
black or African American,
1.94%
Asian, 0.77%
Native American, 0.01%
Pacific Islander,
2.11% from
other races,
and 2.72% from two or more races. 4.64% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 21,348 households out of which 32.3% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were
married couples living together, 16.1% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families.
31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age
of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to
64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.
In 1982 at the insistence of the
Kellogg
Company, the city annexed Battle Creek Township, nearly doubling
the city's population. Kellogg's even went so far as to threaten
moving their headquarters if the annexation failed to occur.
[810976]
The median income for a household in the city was $35,491, and the
median income for a family was $43,564. Males had a median income
of $36,838 versus $26,429 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$18,424. About 10.7% of families and 14.4% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 17.5%
of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The City of Battle Creek has a commission/manager form of
government. Cities that follow this plan of government have an
elected commission (or council) that appoints a professionally
trained and experienced manager to administer the day-to-day
operations of the city and to make recommendations to the city
commission. Battle Creek also appoints a City Attorney, who
provides legal counsel to the City Manager and City
Commission.
The City Commission makes all policy decisions, including review,
revision and final approval of the annual budget, which is proposed
annually by the City Manager. The City Manager serves as an
"at-will" employee and he works under an employment contract with
the commission. All other city employees, with the exception of the
City Attorney’s staff, are under the supervision of the City
Manager.
There are five ward commissioners. Residents cast votes for a ward
representative, who must live within the area they are
representing, as well as for four at-large commissioners. These
candidates may live anywhere in the city. All commissioners serve
two-year terms and all terms begin and end at the same election.
The next commission election will be fall of 2009.
Each November, the commission holds a special meeting to decide
which commissioners serve as Mayor and Vice Mayor for the next
year. The Mayor presides over the commission meetings and appoints
commissioners and residents to special committees. He may also form
special committees to explore community challenges or potential
policies. The Vice Mayor stands in if the Mayor is
unavailable.
Education
Colleges and universities
Public school districts
- [810977] Battle Creek Public Schools
- Harper Creek Schools
- Lakeview School District
- Pennfield Schools
High schools (public)
High schools (private)
Secondary schools
Points of interest
Fort Custer Army National Guard Base
Founded in 1917, Camp Custer, as it was then known, began
construction. Over the next decades it would serve as a training
ground for WWI, WWII and the Korean War. The base was closed in
1964. A large part of the base later became the Fort Custer
Industrial Park in the late 1970s. This industrial Park contains
more than 90 different companies. The
United States Government still owns
the land, but it is now administered and managed by the state of
Michigan. The base, which is still mostly vacant, wooded land takes
up a sizable portion of Battle Creek's land area. The part of the
base in Battle Creek that is now the industrial park measures in
area, which is approximately 10.6% of the city's area.
A much larger part of
the base lies in Kalamazoo County
.
Major Businesses
Transportation
Battle Creek is situated on
I-94.
Major highways
Interstates
Michigan State Trunklines
Aviation
Kalamazoo's
Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International
Airport
serves Battle Creek. Locally, W.
K.
Kellogg Regional Airport
serves the general aviation needs of the
community. The airport is also home to Western
Michigan University
's College of Aviation, Duncan Aviation, and
formerly, the Michigan Air National
Guard's 110th Fighter Wing which flies the A-10 and O/A-10
aircraft.
Notable persons
Sister cities
Battle Creek has
sister cities
relationships with the following cities:
Battle Creek's official Sister City is Takasaki, Japan, a
relationship that is more than 25 years old.
Takasaki later
established Sister City relationships with Santo Andre, Brazil;
Chengde, China; Pilsen, Czech Republic and, in 2006, Muntinlupa
City
, the Philippines. These cities take turns
hosting an environmental conference each year to allow technical
and administrative staff to share ideas and projects for addressing
environmental concerns.
Battle Creek and Takasaki also organize junior high and high school
student and teacher exchanges each summer.
References
- Audette, Rose Marie "Kellogg's Delivers Ultimatum to Battle Creek",
The Multinational Monitor, November 1982, Vol. 3.11
- History - 1891 to the Present, Battle Creek
Fire Department
- History of Battle Creek Township and City
Calhoun County MIGenWen (Michigan Genealogy on the Web), accessed
2008-01-25
- Battle Creek history page
- A Thumbnail History of Battle Creek and Calhoun County,
Michigan, Willard Library. Accessed 2005-01-25
- Indian names in Michigan, origin of "Battle
Creek"
- "Knights will return to court", Bill Broderick,
Battle Creek Enquirer, October 1, 2009, accessed October
4, 2009
- Battle Creek government description.
- Pennfield Schools Web Site!
External links