Benton Harbor, Michigan Benton Harbor, Michigan Main Street in Downtown Benton Harbor Main Street in Downtown Benton Harbor Location of Benton Harbor, Michigan Location of Benton Harbor, Michigan Benton Harbor, Michigan is positioned in the US Benton Harbor, Michigan - Benton Harbor, Michigan State Michigan Benton Harbor is a town/city in Berrien County in the U.S.
State of Michigan which is positioned west of Kalamazoo, and northwest of South Bend, Indiana.
It is the smaller, by population, of the two principal metros/cities in the Niles Benton Harbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, an region with 156,813 citizens . Benton Harbor and the town/city of St.
Joseph River and are known locally as the "Twin Cities".[not in citation given] Fairplain and Benton Heights are unincorporated areas adjoining to Benton Harbor.
Benton Harbor was established by Henry C.
Morton, Sterne Brunson and Charles Hull, who all now have or have had schools titled after them. 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. In 1860, the village was laid out by Brunson, Morton, Hull and others, and given the name of Brunson Harbor. In 1865, the name of the settlement was changed to Benton Harbor with respect to Thomas Hart Benton, a Missouri Senator who helped Michigan achieve statehood.
In 1869, Benton Harbor was organized as a village and in 1891 was incorporated as a city. According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 4.68 square miles (12.12 km2), of which 4.43 square miles (11.47 km2) is territory and 0.25 square miles (0.65 km2) is water. Benton Harbor has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb) that has very warm summers for the type and also less cold winters than many climates of the classification.
Climate data for Benton Harbor, Michigan Average snowy days ( 0.1 in) 9.2 6.4 2.9 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 2.0 7.7 28.8 The demographics of Benton Harbor contrast sharply with those athwart the river in St.
Benton Harbor 7.0% 89.2% $17,301 As of the census of 2010, there were 10,038 citizens , 3,548 homeholds, and 2,335 families residing in the city.
The ethnic makeup of the town/city was 7.0% White, 89.2% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.8% from other competitions, and 2.6% from two or more competitions.
There were 3,548 homeholds of which 44.3% had kids under the age of 18 living with them, 17.0% were married couples living together, 43.2% had a female homeholder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male homeholder with no wife present, and 34.2% were non-families.
The median age in the town/city was 28.3 years.
35.1% of inhabitants were under the age of 18; 10.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 to 44; 22.2% were from 45 to 64; and 7.7% were 65 years of age or older.
The gender makeup of the town/city was 46.5% male and 53.5% female.
At the 2000 census, there were 11,182 citizens , 3,767 homeholds and 2,557 families residing in the city.
The ethnic makeup of the town/city was 92.40% African American, 5.48% White, 0.15% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other competitions, and 1.65% from two or more competitions.
There were 3,767 homeholds of which 42.0% had kids under the age of 18 living with them, 20.8% were married couples living together, 42.0% had a female homeholder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families.
Age distribution was 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 per capita income for the town/city was $8,965, the lowest in Michigan.
About 39.6% of families and 42.6% of the populace were below the poverty line, including 52.5% of those under age 18 and 29.7% of those age 65 or over.
The Michigan Treasury Department in 2009 sent a team to look into the city's finances.
The team's report was a long list of mismanagement to the point that budgets were "effectively meaningless as a financial management tool." The town/city was $10 million under-funded in its pension fund and increasing budget deficits.
Benton Harbor City Hall Harris was given period powers under a new law signed in March 2011 by Republican Governor Rick Snyder. Harris was previously the chief financial officer for the town/city of Detroit. On April 14, 2011, Harris suspended the decision-making powers of Benton Harbor's propel town/city officials, who can hold meetings but are not allowed to govern. The Michigan AFL-CIO president called the move "sad news for democracy in Michigan", but at least one town/city official, City Commissioner Bryan Joseph, was in favor of it, saying the town/city had been mismanaged for decades. On January 4, 2012, town/city commissioners Marcus Muhammad and Mary - Alice Adams held a press conference, where they stated that if there is still an emergency financial manager administering the town/city when Benton Harbor hosts the Senior PGA Championship in May, an "Occupy PGA boss should sit in on the golf greens and driving ranges in protest." On January 11, 2013, the Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board (ELB) voted to replace Joseph Harris as the Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) for the town/city of Benton Harbor.
Saunders II as the youngest Successor-Emergency Financial Manager for the town/city of Benton Harbor. Library service for the town/city is provided by the Benton Harbor Public Library.
The town/city is served by two establishments, Benton Harbor Area Schools inside the Berrien Regional Education Service Agency, and Lake Michigan College, a two-year improve college just east of Benton Harbor.
Whirlpool Corporation, the world's biggest manufacturer of primary home appliances, has its corporate command posts in close-by Benton Charter Township, along with a new downtown ground near the St.
Joseph River in Benton Harbor, and the Technical Center in St.
Black Autonomy Network Community Organization (BANCO) is a political and civil justice coalition working in Benton Harbor.
I-94 bypasses the town/city to the east and south, connecting with Kalamazoo and Detroit to the east and with Michigan City, Indiana, and Chicago, Illinois, to the south and southwest.
BL I-94 travels through the downtowns of both Benton Harbor and St.
I 196 begins close-by in Benton Township and continues northerly toward Holland, ending at Grand Rapids.
M-139 begins at US 12 near Niles and terminates at BL I-94 on the Benton Harbor Benton Township border (the northbound direction terminates wholly inside Benton Township).
Joseph, the Charles Freeman Joseph bridge on Whitwam Drive, is titled for Benton Harbor's first black mayor, opened in late 2005. The Amtrak station in St Joseph is served daily by Amtrak's Pere Marquette passenger train.
Twin Cities Area Transportation Authority (TCATA) provides bus transit throughout Benton Harbor and the encircling areas.
Originally strictly a dial-a-ride service, it has recently period to include three fixed routes Red Route, Green Route and Blue Route.
Red Route serves Benton Harbor, St.
Joseph Charter Township, Lincoln Township, and Royalton Township.
Blue and Green routes operate throughout Benton Harbor and Benton Township. Both Benton Harbor and neighboring St.
Benton Harbor is served by The Herald-Palladium newspaper, whose offices are in close-by St.
The Benton Spirit Community Newspaper has also been serving the improve for the past 10 years.
The paper was acknowledged by former Governor Granholm's 2003 Benton Harbor Task Force Report as a key communications stakeholder that 'proactively assist in the total evolution of Benton Harbor.' Benton Harbor is served by sister airways broadcasts WCXT, WCSY-FM, WIRX, WSJM, WSJM-FM, and WYTZ, as well as WHFB, WQLQ, and some in the South Bend market.
The Morton House in Benton Harbor Sites of interest in Benton Harbor are Shiloh House, assembled in 1910, which served as the administration building and men's dormitory for the House of David colony, a communal theological group; Morton House (on Morton Hill), assembled in 1849 by Eleazar Morton, which now homes a exhibition; Jean Klock Park on Lake Michigan; and the Golf Club at Harbor Shores.
In neighboring Benton Township is a large fruit market which replaced the before fruit market positioned in the "flats" region of Benton Harbor, which was torn down amid an urban renewal universal in 1967. An American Basketball Association team (ABA), the Twin City Ballers, played in Benton Harbor for a several games in November 2006, but left the town/city due to poor attendance at games.
Jack Dempsey defended his heavyweight title September 6, 1920, in Benton Harbor, defeating Billy Miske.
The town/city is place of birth of Iris Kyle, the most successful, female or male, experienced bodybuilder ever, with ten overall Ms.
Benton Harbor is cohost of the annual Blossomtime Festival with St.
"Emergency manager cuts part s of Benton Harbor officials".
Population of Michigan Regions and Statistical Areas, 2000 and 2010, at www.michigan.gov "Now that the Factories are Closed, It's Tee Time in Benton Harbor, Michigan".
Community Profile, City of Benton Harbor - Berrien County official site Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015".
"Enumeration of Population and Housing".
"Emergency Loan Board Appoints Tony Saunders II Successor-Emergency Financial Manager in Benton Harbor?".
"Benton Harbor Area Schools".
"Benton charter township, Michigan." "New bridge links BH, St.
Go Ride Share: Twin Cities Dial A Ride Archived March 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
Joseph and Benton Harbor.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclop dia Britannica article Benton Harbor.
Benton Harbor Area Schools Benton Harbor Arts District Benton Harbor Public Library City of Benton Harbor official web site History of Benton Harbor and tales of village days (by James Pender.
Municipalities and communities of Berrien County, Michigan, United States State of Michigan
Categories:
Cities in Berrien County, Michigan - Cities in Michigan - Populated places on the Great Lakes - 1860 establishments in Michigan
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