Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the
U.S. state of
Michigan, in northwest
Calhoun County. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan
Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Calhoun county. As of the
2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,364.
It is the world headquarters of
Kellogg Company (cereal), manufacturer of
corn flakes and other breakfast cereals. It is also the home of
Post Cereals, which was part of
General Foods Corporation and is now part of
Kraft Foods.
Battle Creek was featured in the
T.C. Boyle novel The Road to Wellville and the movie of the same name.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 113.1
km² (43.7
mi²). 110.9 km² (42.8 mi²) of it is land and 2.2 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (1.92%) is water making Battle Creek the third largest city in Michigan by area. Of this area, part of the Fort Custer ANG Base/Industrial Park takes up 4.96 mi² or approximately 10.6% of the total land area of the city.
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 53,364 people, 21,348 households, and 13,363 families residing in the city. The
population density was 481.1/km² (1,246.0/mi²). There were 23,525 housing units at an average density of 212.1/km² (549.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.65%
White, 17.80%
black or African American, 1.94%
Asian, 0.77%
Native American, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, 2.11% from
other races, and 2.72% from two or more races. 4.64% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 21,348 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were
married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,491, and the median income for a family was $43,564. Males had a median income of $36,838 versus $26,429 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $18,424. About 10.7% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.
GOVERNMENTBattle Creek's government is a council-manager system. Battle Creek City Commissioners serve two-year terms. Each November, the Mayor and Vice Mayor are selected by their fellow commissioners to serve one-year terms. The next election of the City Commission will be held in November 2007. The Commission includes five Ward commissioners, representing specific wards within the City and four at-large commissioners. The city council is responsible for hiring a city manager, who oversees the day-to-day business of running the city, preparing and recommending a budget, and making policy recommendations. The council also approves the city budget, sets city policies and ordinances.
Founded in 1917, Camp Custer, as it was then known, began construction. Over the next decades it would serve a training ground for WWI, WWII and the Korean War. The base was closed in 1964. The a large part of the base became the Fort Custer Industrial Park in the late 1970's. This industrial Park contains more than 90 different companies. The
United States Government still owns the land, but it is now administered and managed by the
State of Michigan. The base, which is still mostly vacant, wooded land takes up a sizable chunk of Battle Creeks land area. The part of the base in Battle Creek that is now the industrial park measures 4.69 square miles in area, which is approximately 10.6% of the city's area. A much larger part of the base lies in
Kalamazoo County.
Colleges and universities
*
Kellogg Community College, a 2-year college founded in 1956.
*
Miller College, a 4-year institution which shares KCC's facilities
*
Western Michigan University's Battle Creek Branch - The Kendall Center
* Battle Creek Public Schools
* Harper Creek Schools
* Lakeview School District
* Pennfield Schools [
1]
High schools (Public)
*
Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center*
Battle Creek Central High School*
Harper Creek High School*
Lakeview Alternative Education*
Lakeview High School*
Michigan Youth Challenge Academy*
Operation Graduation*
Pennfield Senior High School*
South Hill AcademyHigh schools (Private)
*
Battle Creek Academy*
St. Philip Catholic High SchoolPrimary and middle schools (Public)
*
Harper Creek Junior High School*
Lakeview Junior High School*
Pennfield Dunlap Middle School*
Northwestern Junior High School*
Southwestern Junior High School*
W.K. Kellogg Junior High School*
Beadle Lake Elementary School*
Sonoma School*
Wattles Park Elementary School*
Westlake Elementary School*
Urbandale Elementary School*
Springfield Middle SchoolPrimary and middle schools (Private)
*
Adventurous Beginnings for Children*
Battle Creek Academy*
Battle Creek Christian School*
St. Joseph Elementary School*
St. Philip Elementary/Middle SchoolSecondary schools
*
Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center, an accelerated secondary school that focuses primarily on math and science education.
*
Leila Arboretum*
Ira A. Beck Masonic Lodge #503*
Binder Park Zoothumb*
World's Longest Breakfast Table*
Battle Creek Balloon FestivalThe
Southwest Michigan Devil Rays, a Class A
minor league baseball team, affiliated with the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays, plays in the
Midwest League. The team was known as the
Michigan Battle Cats until
2003 and as the
Battle Creek Yankees until
2004. The team's home park is
C.O. Brown Stadium. The team is planning to move to
Midland, MI after the
2006 season.
The
Battle Creek Knights were a charter member of the
International Basketball League (IBL). They went 21-0 during the league's first season in
2005 and won the championship. The team's home is
Kellogg Arena.
The
Battle Creek Crunch, a member of the
Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL), began play in 2006. Their home is
Kellogg Arena.
Battle Creek is situated on the
historic U.S. 12 route, largely replaced in Michigan by
Interstate 94.
Kalamazoo's Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport serves Battle Creek. Locally, W.K. Kellogg Airport serves the general aviation needs of the community. The airport is also home to
Western Michigan University's College of Aviation and the Michigan
Air National Guard's 110th Fighter Wing which flies the
A-10 and
O/A-10 aircraft.
*
John Harvey Kellogg, Battle Creek Sanitarium founder, inventor of
corn flakes*
Will Keith Kellogg, founder of
Kellogg Company, John Harvey's brother
*
C. W. Post, founder of
Postum Cereal Company*
Sojourner Truth, ex-slave and ardent abolitionist
*
Rob Van Dam,
professional wrestler with
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)
*
Jason Newsted, former
Metallica bassist
*
Dick Martin, co-host of the popular comedy-variety show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968-1973)
*
Betty Hutton, one of the most-original and most-colorful singers in twentieth century American pop music
*
Marion Hutton, best-known for her vocals with
Glenn Miller's orchestra
* Junior Walker, of the famous R&B Motown group
Junior Walker & the All-Stars, became a resident of Battle Creek in the 1950's
*
Official website
