Kalamazoo History
Kalamazoo. Our name comes from a Potawatomi Indian expression, "Kikalamazoo," meaning "the rapids at the river crossing," or "boiling water." It's not only a fun name, but it's a fun place to visit and raise a family!
This area was deeded by the Potawatomi Indians in the early 1800's to the United States. Titus Bronson was one of the first settlers to the area and the town was at first named Bronson, after him. But, unfortunately for Mr. Bronson, the name was changed to Kalamazoo after he was convicted of stealing a cherry tree. :-)
Kalamazoo is strategically located between Detroit and Chicago and is dissected East/West by I-94 and North/South by US 131 making it a mainstay for commerce. We have a very diverse industry that offers a unique blend of both professional and manufacturing opportunities. We boast two major hospitals, Borgess and Bronson, in addition to several higher education
alternatives including Western Michigan and Davenport Universities and other Colleges. We are also home to a major Pharmaceutical firm, and several corporations have called Kalamazoo their headquarters.
Throughout time, Kalamazoo has taken on many nicknames for the bustling industry that it has attracted. We were once known as "The Celery City," for the celery crop that thrived on the muck that surrounded the area. We have also been called, "The Paper City," for the many paper mills that once dotted our landscape. We also proudly earned the name, "The Mall City," due to fact that we were the first to build an outdoor mall (1959) in the United States. Be sure to visit it when you are in town!
We are currently watching a major revitalization to our downtown area in addition to a new and progressive Business and Technology Park sponsored by Western Michigan University. We constantly have new stores popping up which continually improves our quality of life.
Thank you for visiting our web page. Please feel free to offer suggestions or comments. We are always looking for ways to improve our services would be honored to hear your comments.