Mishawaka, Indiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Mishawaka, Indiana | |
| Nickname: "The Princess City" | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| County | St. Joseph |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Jeffrey Rea |
| Area | |
| - City | 41.6 km² (16.1 sq mi) |
| - Land | 40.7 km² (15.7 sq mi) |
| - Water | 0.9 km² (0.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 46,557 |
| - Density | 1,144.2/km² (2,963.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Website: www.mishawakacity.com | |
Mishawaka (IPA: [ˈmɪʃ.ʌ.ˌwɒ.kʌ]) is a city on the St. Joseph river and a twin city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 46,557 at the 2000 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City."
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[edit] History
Mishawaka, Indiana, is a growing commercial city in Northern Indiana, located next to South Bend. Mishawaka is named for the legendary 19th century Shawnee Indian princess Mishawaka, daughter of invading Shawnee Chief Elkhart.
In the 1820s, bog iron deposits were discovered in the area. Several small towns arose to exploit these deposits, including one called St. Joseph Iron Works, where a blast furnace was built. In 1833, St. Joseph Iron Works was incorporated with three other small towns as the town of Mishawaka. In 1839, the Kamm & Schellinger Brewery was built, now the 100 Center shopping plaza. Mint was grown all around Mishawaka and by 1900, the city became known as "the peppermint capital of the world." In 1872, fire ravaged most of Mishawaka’s business district. When the city was rebuil, the Dodge Manufacturing Company, Perkins Windmills, and the Mishawaka Woolen and Rubber Company (later Ball Band, then Uniroyal) set up manufacturing plants. Ball Band made rubber garments and was hit by a major strike in 1931, but flourished in the 1940s, finally closing in 1997 in the face of cheaper imports. Manufacturing in Mishawaka peaked in the 1940s and began a slow decline as the economic base shifted to services, such as medicine. The population is ethnically diverse, with large Italian, German and Belgian settlements dating from the late 19th century. Its income is below the national average ($18,434 per capita in 2000, compared with $21,587 nationally).
In 1979, University Park Mall opened north of Mishawaka, beginning a move toward retail business. In 1990, AM General began producing the Hummer in its Mishawaka plant. Although much of the rest of the city's heavy industry was gone by the turn of the 21st century, Mishawaka retains a thriving commercial district that is home to one of the largest retail centers in Indiana, the Grape Road/N Main St shopping corridor, which serves all of Michiana.
[edit] Neighborhoods and Leisure
Old fashioned neighborhoods still exist all over the city, where neighbors are willing to help each other with yard chores, share dessert recipes or offer friendship. Many of the newer residential subdivisions that have been developed within the city in recent years have replicated the community spirit and "hometown" neighborhood feel. Because neighborhoods are such a vital resource to the success of Mishawaka, the city continually upgrades and develops new neighborhood park and recreation facilities. Presently, a total of 27 parks allow Mishawaka residents to golf, play ball, fish and exercise. In 1968, the city opened an outdoor Olympic-size swimming pool and an adjacent ice skating rink. On the south side, Mishawaka's George Wilson Park is home to the city's most popular winter toboggan spot, as well as an 18-hole frisbee golf course and the city's July 4 fireworks show. While the some of the city's Italian immigrants play games like bocce, and some Belgian immigrants continue to raise and race homing pigeons, the city also hosts the nation's oldest and largest wiffleball tournament, the World Whiffleball Championship, held at Rose Park’s 22-field wiffleball complex. The city is also renowned statewide for its high school football excellence, its three schools having won a combined 11 state championships since 1920.
[edit] Points of interest
- Beutter Park - The centerpiece of Mishawaka’s 2000s downtown revitalization, the new park includes a river race with elliptical-shaped overlook weirs and fiber-optic underwater lighting, two connecting bridges across the St. Joseph River race to the park, the Mishawaka Riverwalk, the "Shards" sculpture, and an 800 foot perennial garden.
- Battell Park's historic WPA-built band shelter and terraced rock garden.
- Shiojiri Garden, located in Merrifield Park, is a Japanese strolling garden that symbolizes the Sister-City relationship between Mishawaka, Indiana and Shiojiri City, Japan.
- The Beiger Mansion, built in 1903 and beautifully restored in 1973, was gutted by arson in 1974. The building has since been re-renovated (although not to its former state) and is home to a popular area bed and breakfast.
- Kamm & Schellinger Brewing Company and the 100 Center Complex
- AM General's manufacturing plant, where the Hummer line of vehicles are built.
- Bethel College is affiliated with the Missionary Church, and serves approximately 1,700 students.
- Bonnie Doons restaurant on Lincoln Way West is the last of the area's original 1950s vintage drive up soda shops.
[edit] Geography
Mishawaka is located at (41.667498, -86.171253)GR1. The city has a total area of 41.6 km² (16.0 mi²).
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 46,557 people, 20,248 households, and 11,642 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,144.2/km² (2,963.3/mi²). There were 21,572 housing units at an average density of 530.2/km² (1,373.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.58% White, 3.56% African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.39% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.06% from other races, and 1.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.79% of the population.
There were 20,248 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.2% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 35.8% 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 2.23 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,986, and the median income for a family was $41,947. Males had a median income of $33,878 versus $23,672 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,434. About 7.3% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Mishawaka High School and its public schools are operated by the School City of Mishawaka. The Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation operates schools in parts of the city, including Penn High School. Four Catholic elementary schools (grades K-8) are also located within the city; Mishawaka Marian High School is the city's lone Catholic High School. Bethel College is an accredited evangelical christian liberal arts school with 1,700 students. Located blocks from the city's west side, Indiana University South Bend is the nearest public university to Mishawaka.
[edit] Notable residents - past and present
- John Brademas, American politician and educator
- Conte Candoli, American jazz musician
- Pete Candoli, American jazz musician
- Nick Catanzarite, alphine skier and member of the 2006 U.S. Paralympic Team
- Norman Eddy, American military officer and Indiana Secretary of State
- Freddie Fitzsimmons, American professional baseball player and coach
- Lisa Germano, American folk and rock musician and composer
- George Gulyanics, American professional football player
- Achille "Chick" Maggioli, American professional football player
- Irene Vernon, American film actress
- Joy Lynn White, American country western musician and composer
[edit] Sources
- City of Mishawaka, Web site
- Babcock, Glenn D. History of United States Rubber Company: A Case Study in Corporate Management (1966).
- DeKever, Peter J. With Our Past: Essays on the history of Mishawaka (2003).
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Gmap with stats and info for Mishawaka schools
