Benton Harbor
| Benton Harbor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname : Port of Opportunities | |||
Location in Michigan
|
|||
| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1860 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | Michigan | ||
| County : | Berrien County | ||
| Coordinates : | 42 ° 7 ′ N , 86 ° 27 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Atlantic Standard Time ( UTC − 4 ) | ||
|
Inhabitants : - Metropolitan Area : |
9,919 (as of 2016) 154,010 (as of 2016) |
||
| Population density : | 870.1 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 11.6 km 2 (about 4 mi 2 ) of which 11.4 km 2 (about 4 mi 2 ) is land |
||
| Height : | 180 m | ||
| Postcodes : | 49022, 49023 | ||
| Area code : | +1 269 | ||
| FIPS : | 26-07520 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 0621144 | ||
| Website : | bentonharborcity.com | ||
| Mayor : | Wilce Cooke | ||
 Benton Harbor from the air |
|||
Benton Harbor is a city in the state of Michigan in the United States .
geography
Geographical location
Benton Harbor is on the southeast shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the St. Joseph River . Opposite Benton Harbor is Chicago , Illinois . The urban area extends over an area of 11.6 km 2 , which is made up of 11.4 km 2 of land and 0.2 km 2 of water. On the opposite bank of the river is the city of St. Joseph . The two cities are thus twin cities .
Neighboring communities
Next to the city of St. Joseph in the neighborhood of Benton Harbor are the two unincorporated areas of Fair Plain and Benton Heights .
history
In 1836 Eleazar Morton bought 65 hectares of land in Benton Township and built a log cabin for his family there . The area of what is now Benton Harbor at that time consisted largely of marshland . Morton and his son Henry grew fruit trees and supported the family by selling the fruit. In 1849 they moved into a new house that still exists today. To transport his goods, Henry C. Morton, together with Sterne Brunson and Charles Hull, built a two-kilometer canal from the nearby St. Joseph River to his plantation. In 1860 the site of Brunson Harbor was founded and in 1862 the canal was opened. In 1865 the place was renamed Benton Harbor and officially recognized as a settlement in 1866. The canal had turned Benton Harbor into a port and by the 1870s over 300,000 fruit crates were handled here every year. The settlement grew rapidly in the following years and received city rights in 1891. In 1903 the House of David was founded by Benjamin and Mary Purnell , who had an amusement park and a baseball team . Both became known nationwide in the USA and attracted many tourists to Benton Harbor.
In 1905 the Benton Harbor Development Company was founded with the aim of attracting industrial companies to the city by providing land and financial aid. The city's economy boomed during the Roaring Twenties of the 20th century.
In the early 1960s, Benton Harbor industry and residents began to migrate. The process of suburbanization of the white middle class, which also affected other industrial cities such as Detroit , St. Louis or Cincinnati and is known as the white flight , hit Benton Harbor particularly hard: the city lost almost half of its inhabitants from 1960 to 2010; it remained almost exclusively poorer African Americans (at the 2000 Census , 92.4% African Americans lived in the city, in 2010 89.4%). This decline continued until it peaked in the late 1980s. It wasn't until 1986 that the Michigan government became aware of the city's problems and designated it as an Enterprise Zone . This program offered many corporate incentives and marked the beginning of a renewal for Benton Harbor.
Riots
Benton Harbor has had to deal with two major and three minor unrest in its recent history.
On August 30, 1966, riots broke out for six days after a fatal shooting. The riots were only ended by the dispatch of Michigan National Guard troops by Governor George W. Romney .
In June 2003, a small part of the population rioted after the black Terrance Shurn crashed his motorcycle into a house wall and died while being chased by a police officer. Five houses were set on fire during the unrest and only the deployment of around 300 state police officers and other officials from neighboring communities was able to calm the situation.
In 1960, 1967 and 1990 the city also had to contend with minor unrest.
politics
The city government of Benton Harbor consists on the one hand of the elected town council, which is chaired by the mayor, and on the other hand of the so-called Town Manager .
The municipal council issues ordinances, sets taxes, manages the municipal budget and takes care of long-term urban development. The town manager, who is appointed by the local council, takes care of the day-to-day business and ensures that regulations and laws are implemented. He can propose ordinances to the municipal council, which can take up these suggestions, change them or reject them entirely. The town manager is responsible to the local council.
Culture and sights
Buildings
Special building in Benton Harbor are Built in 1910, the Shiloh House , the first as the seat of city government and later as a men dorm the faith community House of David served as well as the Morton house , built in 1849 by the city of Father Eleazar Morton and today the Museum Sarett Nature Center hosts .
Sports
On September 6, 1920 Jack Dempsey defended his boxing heavyweight title against Billy Miske .
In November 2006, the American Basketball Association Team Twin City Ballers played a number of games in the city . Due to little audience interest, Benton Habor was abandoned as the venue.
Economy and Infrastructure
traffic
Benton Harbor is in the catchment area of several highways . Including the I-94 , I-196 and the US 31 . Furthermore, the city has a station of the railway company Amtrak , the daily from the line Pere Marquette passenger train is operated.
Benton Harbor and St Joseph also owns the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport, which opened in 1940 .
Both cities have further commercial ports where the Great Lakes circulating cargo ships to create.
media
The local newspaper is the Herald-Palladium . Various radio stations and the Chicago television stations can be received in the city.
education
Benton Harbor is part of the Berrien County Intermediate School District. This school district has a high school , seven elementary schools, and two middle schools in Benton Harbor and the surrounding communities . The current president (as of 2008) of the school district is Dan McGinnis. Before the merger in the mid-1960s, the surrounding communities had their own school districts.
In addition to the schools of the conventional American school system, there are the Charter Schools Benton Harbor Charter School , Countryside Academy and Mildred C. Wells Academy in the school district of Berrien County .
Benton Harbor also has the Benton Harbor Public Library .
Personalities
sons and daughters of the town
- Samuel William Becker (1894–1964), dermatologist
- Bobo Brazil (1924-1998), wrestler
- Wilson Chandler (born 1987), basketball player
- Gene Harris (1933-2000), jazz pianist
- Ernie Hudson (born 1945), actor
- Charles Willard Moore (1925–1993), architect
- Sinbad (born 1956), entertainer
- Chet Walker (born 1940), basketball player
- Robert Whaley (* 1982), basketball player
Personalities who have worked on site
- Wally Weber (1903-1984), American football coach
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Negro Crowd Stones Cars in Michigan , article in the Chicago Tribune, September 1, 1966 , accessed December 14, 2008
- ^ History of the Michigan National Guard: The Tumultuous 1960s: Benton Harbor, 1966, on Michigan State website , accessed December 14, 2008
- ↑ Rain, curfew help bring quiet night to Benton Harbor , report the news channel CNN on 19 June 2003
- ↑ Violence brings back bad memories for some , article in Herald-Palladium from June 19, 2003
- ↑ Robert Whaley. NBA.com, August 30, 2006, accessed July 11, 2019 .
- ^ Wally Weber Beats Len Merchant In Club Race . In: Benton Harbor News Palladium . June 17, 1930, p. 6 (English).