Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River, in Penn Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Mishawaka is a principal city of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. At the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourth-largest city in Indiana. Located just south of the border with Michigan, South Bend anchors the Michiana region and is 72 miles (116 km) east of downtown Chicago. The metropolitan area had a population of 324,501 in 2020, while its combined statistical area had 812,199.
U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. Spanning 3,365 miles (5,415 km), it is the longest road in the United States, and, in the east, the route is roughly parallel to Interstate 90 (I-90), which is the longest Interstate Highway in the U.S. There is a discontinuity in the official designation of US 20 through Yellowstone National Park, with unnumbered roads used to traverse the park.
Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. This area's conservation scheme is enhanced by the older Indiana Dunes State Park. To the west of the steel plant lies West Beach and a small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.
U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 75 (I-75) south of Mackinaw City, Michigan.
The St. Joseph River is a tributary of Lake Michigan with a length of 206 miles (332 km). The river flows in a generally westerly direction through southern Michigan and northern Indiana, United States, to its terminus on the southeast shore of the lake. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan. It was enormously important to Native Americans and greatly aided in the colonial exploration, settlement and administration of New France and the nascent United States as a canoe route between Lake Michigan and the watershed of the Mississippi River.
The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately 133 miles (214 km) long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Significantly altered from its original channel, it flows through a primarily rural farming region of reclaimed cropland, south of Lake Michigan.
U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs northwest–southeast for 709 miles (1,141 km) from northern Indiana to Richmond, Virginia, passing through Ohio and West Virginia en route. Although most odd-numbered U.S. routes are north–south, US 33 is labeled east–west throughout its route, except in Indiana where it is labeled north–south. It roughly follows a historic trail used by Native Americans from Chesapeake Bay to Lake Michigan.
The Michigan Central Railroad was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States and the province of Ontario in Canada. After about 1867 the railroad was controlled by the New York Central Railroad, which later became part of Penn Central and then Conrail. After the 1998 Conrail breakup, Norfolk Southern Railway now owns much of the former Michigan Central trackage.
US Highway 31 (US 31) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Alabama to the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that runs from the Indiana–Michigan state line at Bertrand Township north to its terminus at Interstate 75 (I-75) south of Mackinaw City. Along its 355.2-mile-long (571.6 km) route, US 31 follows the Michigan section of the St. Joseph Valley Parkway as well as other freeways and divided highways northward to Ludington. North of there, the trunkline is a rural undivided highway through the Northern Michigan tourist destinations of Traverse City and Petoskey before terminating south of Mackinaw City. Along its route, US 31 has been dedicated in memory of a few different organizations, and sections of it carry the Lake Michigan Circle Tour (LMCT) moniker. Four bridges used by the highway have been recognized for their historic character as well.
The King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company was a late-19th-century bridge building company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded by Zenas King (1818–1892) in 1858 and subsequently managed by his sons, James A. King and Harry W. King and then his grandson, Norman C. King, until the mid-1920s. Many of the bridges built by the company were used during America's expansion west in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and some of these bridges are still standing today.
Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park is a state park in Pall Mall, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Situated along the Wolf River, the park contains the farm and gristmill once owned by decorated World War I soldier Alvin C. York (1887–1964), who lived in the Pall Mall area for his entire life. Along with the millhouse and milldam, the park includes York's two-story house, York's general store and post office, the Wolf River Cemetery, the Wolf River Methodist Church, the York Bible Institute, and various picnic facilities.
The Indiana Dunes are natural sand dunes occurring at the southern end of Lake Michigan in the American State of Indiana. They are known for their ecological significance. Many conservationists have played a role in preserving parts of the Indiana Dunes. The Hour Glass, a museum in Ogden Dunes, showcases some of the ecological import of the Dunes.
The US 12–St. Joseph River Bridge is a three-span camelback bridge in Mottville, Michigan, that carried U.S. Route 12 across the St. Joseph River. Built in 1922, it is the fourth bridge to cross the river at this location. It has served as a pedestrian bridge since 1990 when a new bridge opened alongside to carry the highway. The bridge is the longest surviving camelback bridge in Michigan. It is a Michigan State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The town of New Carlisle, abutting the LaPorte County line in Olive Township in northwestern St. Joseph County, perches on a hill overlooking the rich Terre Coupee prairie to the east. Its main street, Michigan Street, at forty-five feet is wider than the town's other streets and has been from its platting in 1835 a part of an improved thoroughfare, first the Michigan Road, later the Lincoln Highway and, finally, US 20. Two parallel railroads, Conrail and the electrically powered South Shore, run along the town's north edge at the bottom of the hill, beyond which still lies open farmland. This is largely true to the west and south as well, although in recent years commercial development has occurred at the western edge of town along US 20 at the county line, and some residential development to the south. Along US 20 to the east is a long line of ca. 1950 housing development, which until recently edged farmland between the highway and the railroads. Now much of this farmland is zoned industrial, owing largely to the construction less than 2 miles (3.2 km) away of the enormous I/N Tek steel mill, completed in 1990, and its subsidiary I/N Kote, in 1991. The district is the main commercial district on Michigan Street.
Plymouth Downtown Historic District is a national historic district located in Plymouth, Marshall County, Indiana, United States. The district encompasses 47 contributing buildings and one contributing structure in the central business district of Plymouth. It developed between about 1870 and 1940, and includes examples of Italianate, Romanesque Revival, and Colonial Revival style architecture. Located in the district is the separately listed Plymouth Fire Station. Other notable buildings include the Montgomery Ward Building (1929), Metsker Block, Rentschler Building (1910), Early Plymouth Post Office (1884), First National Bank-Plymouth City Hall, Packard Bank Block (1879), Simons Building (1895), Wheeler Block, Bank Block, Bank Block-Masonic Temple (1901), Plymouth Post Office (1935), and Plymouth Motor Sales (1929).
The Horatio Chapin House, or simply, the Chapin House, is a historic home located at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. It was built between 1855 and 1857 by Horatio Chapin, one of the early settlers of South Bend and the first president of the board of town trustees. The house consists of a 2+1⁄2-story, cross-plan, Gothic Revival style frame dwelling, a rare example of its kind in the region. It's considered an outstanding example of Gothic Revival architecture influenced by architect Andrew Jackson Downing. It is sheathed in board and batten siding and features lancet windows and a steeply pitched cross-gable roof with an elaborately carved bargeboard. The Chapin House is widely recognized as one of the most significant homes in the state of Indiana, and in 1980 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
La Salle Street Bridge is a historic Spandrel Arch bridge located at South Bend, St. Joseph County, Indiana. It was built in 1907, and is a three-span, reinforced concrete bridge that crosses the St. Joseph River. It measures 279 feet long and 51 feet wide.
The Marantette Bridge, also known as the Railroad Street Bridge, is a historic vehicle bridge, now closed to traffic, located at Railroad Street over the St. Joseph River in Mendon, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Indian Trail Road–Belle River Bridge, also known as the Radike Mills Bridge, is a historic bridge that was originally constructed on Indian Trail Road, spanning the Belle River in China Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The bridge has been moved, and now is located at Purdue University's Steel Bridge Research, Inspection, Training and Engineering Center on South Sharon Chapel Road in West Lafayette, Indiana.
