Battle Creek, Michigan Totally Explained

Everything about Battle Creek Michigan totally explained

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 River. 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.
   Battle Creek known as the "Cereal City" is the world headquarters of Kellogg Company, founded by brothers, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and William Keith Kellogg, who 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 and is now part of Kraft Foods.
   Battle Creek 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 didn't merge.
   Battle Creek is currently the 3rd largest city in Michigan, by area, after Detroit and Grand Rapids.

Name origin

According to popular and commonly accepted accounts, 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 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 the them. The survey party promptly left the area and didn't return until the 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".

Education

Colleges and universities

Kellogg Community College, a 2-year college founded in 1956.

Robert B. Miller College, a 4-year institution which shares KCC's facilities

Western Michigan University's Battle Creek Branch - The Kendall Center

Western Michigan University's College of Aviation, located at W.K. Kellogg Airport

Spring Arbor University Battle Creek Branch

Public school districts

Battle Creek Public Schools

Harper Creek Schools

Lakeview School District

Pennfield Schools (External Link

)

High schools (public)

Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center

Battle Creek Central High School

Harper Creek High School

Lakeview Alternative Education, better known as Calhoun Community High School

Lakeview High School

Michigan Youth Challenge Academy

Operation Graduation

Pennfield Senior High School

South Hill Academy

High schools (private)

Battle Creek Academy

Bedford Bible Church School

Calhoun Christan School

St. Philip Catholic Central High School

Secondary schools

Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center, an accelerated secondary school that focuses primarily on math and science education.

Points of interest

Local Sights

Art Center of Battle Creek

Battle Creek Sanitarium (now the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center)

Binder Park Zoo

Full Blast Indoor/Outdoor Water Park and Arcade

Harper Creek Village (Shopping Plaza)

Ira A. Beck Masonic Lodge #503

The Rink (ice skating)

Willard Library

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's 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's 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

Kellogg Company

Kraft Foods

Denso Corporation

Textron

Transportation

Battle Creek is situated on the historic U.S. 12 route, largely replaced in Michigan by I-94.

Major highways

Interstates

I-94

I-194

I-94 Business Loop

Michigan routes

M-37

M-66

M-89

M-96

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 and 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 city partnerships with the following cities:

Santo André, Brazil

Takasaki, Japan Battle Creek's official Sister City is Takasaki, Japan, a relationship that's 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.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Battle Creek Michigan'.

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