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.
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

French FlagDrawing of early Ft. Saint Joseph
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English flag

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Spanish flag
United States flag

Drawing of the raising of the Spanish flag

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1837 plat map of Niles

Aaron Montgomery Ward

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Hoel Wright, Civil War soldier from Niles -

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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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