THREE RIVERS, MICHIGAN

'Three Rivers' is a city in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan.
Three Rivers derives its name from the confluence of the St. Joseph River with its tributaries the Rocky and Portage Rivers.^[1] It is the home of St. Gregory's Abbey, a Benedictine monastery of the Episcopal Church that was established in 1946.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Sports

Summer camps

Famous residents

References

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.3 km² (4.7 mi²). 11.7 km² (4.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (5.06%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 7,328 people, 2,910 households, and 1,769 families residing in the city. The population density was 627.4/km² (1,625.8/mi²). There were 3,234 housing units at an average density of 276.9/km² (717.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.36% White, 10.55% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 1.71% from other races, and 2.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.72% of the population.
There were 2,910 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.9% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,460, and the median income for a family was $36,272. Males had a median income of $31,849 versus $23,659 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,279. About 16.2% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.5% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Sports

The Wildcats are the high school's mascot. The 'cats have long been known for its high school football, basketball, and track and field excellence. The football and track teams have been at or near the top of the Wolverine Conference for nearly 25 years, winning state titles for football in 2003 and for track and field in 2000 and 2002.
Three Rivers' rivals are Sturgis High School and Richland Gull Lake High School.

Summer camps

Three Rivers is also the home to many summer camps, including Habonim Dror Camp Tavor, the YMCA Camps Eberhart and Wakeshma, as well as the Latvian Center Garezers (Latvian language site).

Famous residents

★ Neal Ball, baseball player, was the first player in Major League baseball history to pull off an unassisted triple play. He played for Three Rivers's semiprofessional team in 1902.

★ Blondi Bee, adult actress, grew up in Three Rivers.

★ Harry Blackstone Jr., magician, was born in Three Rivers.

★ Charles Collingwood, reporter and television news correspondent, was born in Three Rivers.

★ Joe Gherna, baseball player formerly with the Minnesota Twins, is a graduate of Three Rivers High School.

★ Matt Thornton, baseball player for the Chicago White Sox, was born in Three Rivers.

References

1. "Welcome to Three Rivers" Brochure, City of Three Rivers Government, July 2006. [1]