Niles, Michigan...the City of four flags!

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History

Historic Timeline

1650
1700
1775
1800
1830
1850
1860
1865
1870

1680 - Jesuit missionaries establish a mission station, naming it Saint Joseph de la Miami

1689 - French officer Augustine Legardeur de Courtemanche begins construction of Fort Saint Joseph

1761 - The French surrender Fort Saint Joseph to the British
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1776-1781 - American Revolution
1781 - The Spanish Raid on Fort St. Joseph leads to the Spanish flag being raised over the fort.
1820 - First pioneer settlers arrive in Niles including Reverend Issaac McCoy. These settlers staffed the Carey Mission School. 1829 - Village of Niles named in honor of Hezekiah Niles, editor of a prominent political newspaper in Baltimore MD. Niles is first platted. 1848 - The Michigan Central Line train arrives in Niles

1850 - Aaron Montgomery Ward (1843-1913), co-founder of the world’s first mail order business moves to Niles at age seven.
1859 - Niles becomes a city.
1860 - Berrien County sends over 3,100 men to fight in the Civil War.

1864 - John (1864) and Horace (1868), founders of the Dodge Brothers Company, born in Niles

English flag

Spanish flag
United States flag

Drawing of the raising of the Spanish flag

1837 plat map of Niles

Aaron Montgomery Ward

Hoel Wright, Civil War soldier from Niles

Advertising poster for the 1937 issue of Cosmopolitan

Information for this timeline provided by Nancy Watts-Styles, historian and co-author of Niles, A Pictorial Guide. Nancy is the owner of Historic Interpretations, a provider of historical and multi-cultural research, planning and interpretive consulting services.

Historic Timeline

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