Niles, Michigan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Niles is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city has also annexed a small portion of land in Cass County. The population was 12,204 at the 2000 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Niles is located at the site of the French Fort St. Joseph, first established in 1691. After 1761, it was held by the British and was captured on May 25, 1763, by Native Americans during Pontiac's Rebellion. The British retook the fort but it was not regarrisoned and served as a trading post. During the American Revolutionary War, the fort was held for a short time by a Spanish force. The presence of these three European powers in the area, as well as the United States, is how Niles came to be known as The City of Four Flags.

The town was named after Hezekiah Niles (editor of the Niles Register, a Baltimore newspaper.) The newspaper for the town is the Niles Daily Star[1].

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Points of interest
4 Transportation
5 Notable people
6 References

[edit] Geography

The city part of suburban South Bend, Indiana is situated on the St. Joseph River and is located mostly within the boundaries of Niles Township.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 km² (5.9 mi²). 15.0 km² (5.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.4 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (2.36%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 12,204 people, 5,096 households, and 3,052 families residing in the city. The population density was 813.8/km² (2,109.5/mi²). There were 5,531 housing units at an average density of 368.8/km² (956.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.19% White, 12.36% African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.26% from other races, and 2.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.97% of the population.

There were 5,096 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.1% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,208, and the median income for a family was $38,870. Males had a median income of $31,395 versus $22,991 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,584. About 9.9% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Points of interest

Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve

Downtown Niles is an improving area of small shops, entertainment and services. It is built on a hill to avoid flooding from the St. Joseph River. The Downtown Development Association was awarded a Main Street Initiative development package from the state of Michigan. Seasonal events are held in the park and nearby areas, including the Niles Riverfest, the Bluegrass Festival, the Hunter Ice Festival, and the Apple Festival Parade.

[edit] Transportation

See also: Niles (Amtrak station)

The only rail line currently serving Niles is Amtrak's Chicago-Detroit Line, with freight service provided by the Norfolk Southern Railway. However, it was once served by several other lines. The Amtrak line was the Michigan Central Railroad's main line, opened through Niles in 1848 and 1849. The St. Joseph Valley Railroad opened in 1870 as the Michigan Central's South Bend Branch, and the Michigan Air-Line Railroad, leased to the Michigan Central, opened a line heading east from Niles in 1871, known as the Air Line Branch. The final line through Niles was the southeast-northwest Benton Harbor Branch of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, opened by the Cincinnati, Wabash and Michigan Railway in 1882. All of these lines were part of the New York Central Railroad system. The Air Line Branch was abandoned at Niles in 1937, and the Benton Harbor Branch was removed north of Niles in 1980. The South Bend Branch was removed later that decade.^[1]

The Amtrak station is located along the main line east of the former Benton Harbor Branch crossing and west of the former junctions with the South Bend and Air Line Branches. Amtrak uses the old Michigan Central station; the current structure was built in 1892 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[2] Baggage cannot be checked at this location; however, up to two suitcases in addition to any "personal items" such as briefcases, purses, laptop bags, and infant equipment are allowed on board as carry-ons.

Niles is served by US-31, US-12, M-60, and Michigan State Highway 51. It has access to the Indiana Toll Road via US 31 and M-51. US-12 on the south side of Niles is a lightly-used bypass highway that approaches freeway status; it has exits for US 12 (east toward Edwardsburg to the southeast of town and M-51 south of town. It was the first stage of construction of a freeway along the former US-12 that would have connected Detroit to Chicago (known as the Sauk Trail during the fur trading days), a project abandoned after the Indiana Toll Road and Interstate 94 made such an expressway unnecessary.