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Niles, Michigan
 Temp: 48°FWind Chill: 45°FHumidity: 87%Wind: SW at 6 mphDew Point: 45°FClouds: mostly cloudyVisibility: 10 miles |
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| Getting to Know the Four Flags Area |
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The Story of Fort St. Joseph
Berrien Springs
Buchanan
Eau Claire
Niles
The Four Flags Area of Michigan is truly a historical tract of land. Our strategic location on the Great Sauk Trail (now the US-12 Heritage Route) near the Continental Divide, which separates the Great Lakes drainage basin from the Mississippi River drainage basin, caused heated battles for control of the area. Four different nations fought over and claimed the territory surrounding Ft. St. Joseph and what is now the city of Niles over the past three hundred years. Our little piece of the St. Joseph River Valley has the unique distinction of being the oldest settlement in Southwest Michigan and the only place in the state controlled by four different nations. France, England, Spain, and the United States have all raised their flag and made their mark, both physically and culturally on this area. This history is kept alive in the numerous museums and historic sites throughout the area.
Each community within the Four Flags Area has its own unique story. The following are small pieces of each community's story.
Berrien Springs
The area in which the John Pike family settled in 1829 was known as Wolf's Prairie, the former hunting grounds of Chief Big Wolf. It was platted in 1831, and named Berrien Springs after John M. Berrien, and the mineral springs found in the area. It became the Berrien County Seat in 1837 and remained so until 1894. The 1839 Courthouse still stands and is the oldest Courthouse in Michigan. Today Berrien Springs is the home of Andrews University and the Berrien County Youth Fairgrounds.
Buchanan
The Buchanan area was inhabited for thousands of years before Europeans arrived by Native Americans living on the North side of present-day Buchanan on the banks of the St. Joseph River. A Native American mound was found in this area near a place called Moccasin Bluff. The mound is about the size of a school classroom. Tools, axes, knives, pottery, and the bones of a prehistoric woman were all found within the mound.
The first white settler in Buchanan Township was Charles Cowels. He came to Michigan from Vermont in 1832, living in Niles first and then moving to the Buchanan area in 1833. He built a log cabin and a shingle mill. Buchanan was first known as McCoy's Creek after Isaac McCoy who came to the area as a carpenter at the Carey Mission, and after working for a time in boating on the St. Joseph River, he claimed a piece of land at the mouth of McCoy's Creek in 1833. The name of the area was changed to honor James Buchanan the 15th President of the United States - who approved Michigan statehood.
Pears Mill is the last of 13 mills which once lined the Mill Race of McCoy Creek. It was built in 1857 and today houses a working water powered flour mill and artifacts from Buchanan's history.
Eau Claire
William S. Farmer, a native of New York, settled near Clear Creek in Pipestone Township in 1848. When a post office was established in 1861 the little village was named Eau Claire, after the French words for clear water. The Village was incorporated in 1891. Today Eau Claire is the center of Berrien County fruit production and the home of Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm.
Niles
In 1823 Squire Isaac Thompson, a native of Virginia, built a log house near the present site of the French Paper Company. The Village of Niles was incorporated in 1839 and named after Hezekiah Niles, a famous Baltimore Journalist. The introduction of the railroad to Niles secured its place as the most important city in Southern Berrien County. Niles was incorporated as the first city in Berrien County in 1859. Today the Fort St. Joseph Museum is located in the Carriage House of the Chapin Mansion (now Niles City Hall) and houses most of the artifacts recovered from the site of Ft. St. Joseph. The museum also has documented the history of the City of Niles since its founding in 1829.
The Story of Fort St. Joseph
In 1691 the French built a block house and a fort on the east side of the St. Joseph River, primarily to promote trade with the Native Americans. It stood one mile south of the current center of Niles at the intersection of the river and the Native American Sauk Trail. The fort commanded the river, which was navigable by boat or canoe for one hundred and fifty miles upstream from its mouth at the present city of St. Joseph where it flows into Lake Michigan.
The French inhabited the Fort for almost 100 years until the fall of New France in 1761, when the British 60th regiment, then called the Royal Americans, occupied the fort. The French Flag came down and the English ensign went up.
During Pontiac's Rebellion of 1763 Potawatomi Indians captured the post and killed most of the British stationed there. The fort was never regarrisoned by the British.
In 1781 the Spanish Lt. Governor in charge of the St. Louis area, Francisco Cruzat, gave permission to a French militia captain, Eugene Pourre and two Indian chiefs to attack Ft. St. Joseph. The group took the resident traders by surprise, and captured the Fort without firing a shot. They claimed the territory in the name of Spain. After confiscating all stores and provisions, the Spanish returned to St. Louis boasting of the possession of lands along the St. Joseph River.
In 1783, the United States, through the Treaty of Paris concluded peace with England and took possession of all the territory extending between the two great lakes, Michigan and Huron.
Over this area of ground the French, English, Spanish and American nations unfurled their flags, hence the name, "the Four Flags Area." The title was not used however until the Four Flags Hotel opened in Niles in 1925. To learn more about the story of Ft. St. Joseph visit the Ft. St. Joseph Museum
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