BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN

'Benton Harbor' is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. State of Michigan.
The population was 11,182 at time of the 2000 census. It is the lesser populated of the two principal cities included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the administrative home of Whirlpool Corporation which acquired the Maytag Corporation in 2006, making it the world's largest producer of home appliances. Sites of interest are Shiloh House, built in 1910 served as the administration building and men's dormitory for the House of David colony, a communal religious group; Morton House (on Morton Hill) built in 1849 by Eleazar Morton, which now houses a museum; nearby Sarett Nature Center, a 300-acre wildlife sanctuary which offers trails, an interpretative building, and classes, and Jean Klock Beach Park on Lake Michigan. Near Benton Harbor is a large fruit market which replaced the prior fruit market located in the "flats" area of Benton Harbor which was torn down during an urban renewal project during the 1960's.
Benton Harbor and the City of St. Joseph (which is located across the St. Joseph River) are known locally as the "Twin Cities." Fair Plain and Benton Heights are unincorporated areas adjacent to Benton Harbor.

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Education

Sports

Notable Residents or Former Residents

Trivia

Notable Companies

External links

Books

History

Benton Harbor was founded by Henry C. Morton, Sterne Brunson and Charles Hull, who all now have or have had schools named after them[1][2]. Benton Harbor was mainly swampland bordered by the Paw Paw River, through which a canal was built, hence the "harbor" in the city's name[3]. In 1863, the settlement was given the name of Brunson Harbor. In 1865 the name of the settlement was changed to Thomas Hart Benton who was a Missouri Senator who helped Michigan achieve statehood. In 1866, Benton Harbor was organized as a village and in 1891 was incorporated as a city.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.6 km² (4.5 mi²). 11.4 km² (4.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.79%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 11,182 people, 3,767 households, and 2,557 families residing in the city. The population density was 983.5/km² (2,545.7/mi²). There were 4,492 housing units at an average density of 395.1/km² (1,022.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 5.48% White, 92.40% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.58% of the population.
There were 3,767 households out of which 42.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 20.8% were married couples living together, 42.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.53.
In the city the population was spread out with 39.6% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $17,471, and the median income for a family was $19,250. Males had a median income of $27,154 versus $20,105 for females. The per capita income for the city was $8,965. About 39.6% of families and 42.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 52.5% of those under age 18 and 29.7% of those age 65 or over.
The demographics of Benton Harbor contrast sharply with those across the river in St. Joseph.

	White	Black	Household Income
Benton Harbor	5.49%	92.40%	$17,471
St. Joseph	90.31%	5.11%	$37,032

Education

The city is served by the Benton Harbor Area Schools within the Berrien County Intermediate School District.
The public schools district serves the city of Benton Harbor and surrounding areas. For years a popular student gathering place was the Tiger Den restaurant across the street from the high school before it closed. The school district has one high school, seven elementary schools, and two middle schools. In 2007, the district hired a new superintendent. Carole Schmidt replaced Dr. Paula Dawning. The hiring of Schmidt was notable because she left her job as superintendent of the St. Joseph Public School District. Schmidt is the first white superintendent of the Benton Harbor School District in decades, and she has faced much skepticism from the overwhelmingly black residents of Benton Harbor.
The school board governs the school district, the current president is Mr. Dan McGinnis. There are three charter schools in the city of Benton Harbor, Benton Harbor Charter School, Countryside Academy, and Mildred C. Wells Academy.
Until the consolidation done in the mid-1960's certain out-lying areas, such as Fairplain, had their own independent school districts.

Sports

An American Basketball Association team (ABA), the Twin City Ballers played in Benton Harbor for a few games in November 2006, but left the city due to poor attendance at games.
Jack Dempsey defended his heavyweight title September 6, 1920 in Benton Harbor defeating Billy Miske.

Notable Residents or Former Residents

★ Quacy Barnes - former WNBA player and assistant basketball coach at Eastern Illinois University

★ Bobo Brazil - professional wrestler

★ Gene Harris - jazz pianist

★ Ernie Hudson - actor

★ Arte Johnson - actor/comedian

★ Julie Krone - horse jockey and first woman to win the Belmont Stakes

★ Anthony Miller - professional basketball player

★ Charles Willard Moore, architect and AIA Gold Medal winner

★ Benjamin Purnell, leader of the House of David religious sect

★ Rome (Jerome Woods) - R&B singer

★ Sinbad (David Adkins) - actor / comedian

★ Chet Walker - NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls

★ Robert Whaley - NBA basketball player

★ Iris (floyd)Kyles- MS Olympia 2005

★ Wilson Chandler - NBA basketball player for the New York Knicks 1st round draft pick in the 2007 NBA draft #23.

Trivia

★ "Benton Harbor Blues" is the name of a song on the 2006 album ''Bitter Tea'' by the alternative rock band The Fiery Furnaces

★ Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand recorded the single version of the song "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" in the Key Club Studio[4] there. "Eleanor" in the song refers to Eleanor Friedberger, singer of The Fiery Furnaces.

★ The city is about 60 miles east of Chicago. It is approximately 90 miles away traveling by automobile. On a sunny day in Lake Michigan, the Chicago skyline is visible on the view.

★ In the summer of 2003, a small minority of the residents in the City of Benton Harbor rioted when a motorcyclist, being chased by a police officer, crashed into a building and died. Nearly 2 dozen houses were set on fire, and hundreds of law enforcement personnel from around the state came to Benton Harbor to stabilize the situation. Many saw the riots as a sign of frustration from the mostly black youth population. Indirectly, the riot contributed to the Jimmy Carter Work Project being held in Benton Harbor and Detroit, MI, in 2005.

Notable Companies

★ Whirlpool Corporation

External links

★ Benton Harbor Area Schools

★ Herald-Palladium Newspaper

★ WSJM AM 1400

★ Benton Harbor Michigan Message Board

★ Benton Harbor Arts District

★ Israelite House of David

★ Mary's City of David

★ The Livery | Hand-Forged MicroBrews

★ Benton Harbor Public Library

★ City of Benton Harbor

★ House of David Museum

Books

Numerous books have been published on the history of Benton Harbor. "Chips Fell in the Valley 1650-1963" by Catherine Moulds is a book that was published in the early 1960's about the history of the Benton Harbor area.