Titus Bronson (November 27, 1788 – January 6, 1853) is regarded as the eccentric founder of the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
In 1829, Titus Bronson, originally from Connecticut, was the first settler to build a cabin within the present city limits. He platted the town in 1831 and named it the village of Bronson (not to be confused with the much smaller Bronson, Michigan about 50 miles (80 km) to the south-southeast).
Bronson was frequently described as "eccentric" and argumentative and was later run out of town. The village of Bronson was renamed Kalamazoo in 1836 (due in part to an incident resulting in Bronson's being fined for stealing a cherry tree). Today, a hospital and a park, among other things, are named after Titus Bronson.
After leaving Kalamazoo, Bronson found his way to Davenport, Iowa, where, in 1842, he lost most of his money in a land swindle.[ citation needed ] His wife also died in that same year. Bronson lived in Illinois for a short while, and then returned to Connecticut where he died a broken man. His headstone reads: "A Western Pioneer, Returned to Sleep with his Fathers."
Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,616 at the 2010 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Kalamazoo is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 335,340 in 2015. Kalamazoo is equidistant from Chicago and Detroit, being about 140 miles (230 km) away from both.
Kalamazoo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2020, the population was 261,670. The county seat is Kalamazoo.
Eaton County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 109,175. The county seat is Charlotte. The county was organized in 1837 and was named for John Eaton, who was Secretary of War under U.S. President Andrew Jackson, making it one of Michigan's Cabinet counties. Eaton County is included in the Lansing-East Lansing, Metropolitan Statistical area in Central Michigan.
Saugatuck is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 865 at the 2020 census. The city is within Saugatuck Township, but is administratively autonomous.
Epaphroditus Ransom was an American politician who served as the seventh governor of Michigan and as a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.
Bronson Methodist Hospital is a 434-bed non-profit teaching hospital located in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, and is a Level I trauma center. Bronson Methodist Hospital is the flagship of the Bronson Healthcare Group, a non-profit healthcare system serving all of southwest Michigan and northern Indiana. Bronson Methodist Hospital provides care in cardiology, orthopedics, surgery, emergency medicine, neurology, oncology; in neurological care as a Comprehensive Stroke Center; in cardiac care as a Chest Pain Center; in obstetrics as a BirthPlace and high-risk pregnancy center, and in pediatrics as a children's hospital.
Kalamazoo is the name of a natural feature and several settled places in the U.S. state of Michigan:
Charles Sedgwick May was an American politician and the 16th lieutenant governor of Michigan.
Rachael Mary Upjohn Light Meader was an American aerial photographer and explorer. Heir to the Upjohn Company fortune, she is best known in aerial circles for her 35,000-mile (56,000 km) flight in 1937–1938, during which she photographed unprecedented images of South America and Africa. Her African photographs were later featured in the book Focus on Africa. In her later years, she also became known in her native Kalamazoo, Michigan, for her philanthropy to Western Michigan University, the University of Michigan, and various Kalamazoo charities.
James Boyles Murray was a businessman and leading member of New York society in the early-to-mid-19th century.
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which encompasses all of Calhoun County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 52,731. Nicknamed "Cereal City", it is best known as the home of the Kellogg Company and the founding city of Post Consumer Brands.
Paul Vincent Donovan was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Kalamazoo in Michigan from 1971 to 1994.
Andrew Mack was an American businessman and politician who, among other things, co-founded the Detroit Free Press, served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, and whose land holdings became a portion of the town of Marysville.
Bell's Brewery, Inc. is an American craft brewing company, with operations in Comstock and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Bell's brews acclaimed beers such as Hopslam Ale, Oberon Ale, and Two Hearted Ale. It operates a brewpub and a store selling merchandise and homebrewing supplies at its Kalamazoo location. Begun as a homebrewing store in 1983, and producing beer since 1985, it is the oldest existing craft brewery in Michigan and the oldest craft brewery east of Colorado. As of 2021, it was the 6th largest craft brewery in the United States, and was the largest independently owned brewery in Michigan when founder Larry Bell sold the company to Lion Little World Beverages - an Australian subsidiary of the Japanese Kirin beverage group at the end of 2021. The company also owns Upper Hand Brewery, a separately operated division in Escanaba, Michigan.
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed) is a private medical school in Kalamazoo, Michigan. WMed was established in 2012 and confers the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, as well as Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences degree and the Master of Science in Medical Engineering degree. WMed is a collaboration between Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo's two teaching hospitals, Ascension Borgess and Bronson Healthcare. The inaugural class of 54 students started in August 2014.
Eli Parsons Royce was an American surveyor in and around Green Bay, Wisconsin. He worked for various lumbermen, one who was Nelson Ludington a lumber baron that was doing work for a new railroad and harbor. The new harbor was the site of a new town later to be known as the city of Escanaba, Michigan. Royce surveyed the area for a layout of a new town as a pioneer and is considered the founder of Escanaba. There he was a businessman, surveyor, engineer, postmaster, and lawyer as well as their mayor.
Horace Hawkins Comstock was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. He was very successful in business as a young man, purchased large quantities of land in the Michigan Territory in the early 1830s, founded the town of Comstock, Michigan, and served multiple terms in the Michigan Legislature. He built a reputation as a generous and helpful citizen, but following the death of his first wife, his family began to fall apart and his finances suffered, and he died intestate with little of his fortune left.
Cyren Burdick was an American politician who served in the Michigan House of Representatives in the first session after the adoption of the state constitution. He was one of the early settlers of the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Bronson Park Historic District is a historic district in Kalamazoo, Michigan, consisting of Bronson Park and the surrounding government, religious, and civic buildings. It is roughly bounded by South Rose, South Park, West Lovell, and West Michigan Avenues. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.