BATTLE CREEK, Mich., city of Calhoun County, midway between Detroit and Chicago, located at the junction of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo rivers and on the main trunk lines of both the Michigan Central and Grand Trunk railways, 48 miles south of Grand Rapids. Battle Creek is in the centre of the best farming district of the State, having with in a radius of 15 miles over 425,000 acres of improved land with $25,000,000 invested in farm properties. Battle Creek is known as a manufacturing centre and has a national repu tation for its cereal foods. There are 176 manu facturing plants employing 6,200 people. Bat tle Creek manufactures threshing machines, traction engines and steam pumps and also printing presses, bread-wrapping machines, gas stoves, fibre boxes, box board paper, wall reg isters, steel paper balers, air compressors, brass and aluminum goods, automatic sealing ma chines, bakers' ovens, hose clamps, high-power drills, electric bath cabinets, candies and cigars. There are several large foundries and one big enameling plant. The weekly pay-roll is $169,000. The engine and repair shops of the Grand Trunk Railroad are also located in this city and this is a divisional centre of that rail road. Battle Creek has a large sanatorium, with thousands of visitors yearly and nearly 1,000 employees. It is the 9th city in size in the State of Michigan, but the first city in per capita bank deposits, with $13,718,171.22 and the first city in the State in the value of net factory output per capita of population. The city is also a leader in the. per capita of saving-s deposits, there being $484 for every man, woman and child in the city. It is the 4th city in the State in the annual value of manu factured products, having $23,248,000 in 1914. The city is known as a home-owning city, as 72 per cent of the people own their own homes and 98 per cent are American-born. It has
over 50 fraternal societies, a woman's club, a charitable union, a women's league, an asso ciated charities, a Y. W. C. A., a Y. M. C. A., the Athelstan Club, a social organization com posed of 400 business and professional men, and a Chamber of Commerce. There is a public library costing $70,000, a Y. M. C. A. building costing $40,000, both the gifts of the late Charles Willard; a fine city hospital, the gift of John Nichols; to this has been added a fine addition, the gift of the Rogers family. There are 12 schools with 140 teachers, and a $350,000 central high school, the city having invested $1,000,000 in schools without bonding. There is also a Catholic school, Adventist school and two business colleges. There are three daily papers and a number of monthly publications. Battle Creelc, so named from a pioneer fight with Indians, was first settled in 1832 by families from New York and New England. It was incorporated as a village in 1850 and as a city in 1859. Since 1913 it is under a commission form of government.
The city owns a $100,000 dual water system, has a paid fire and police department, electric lights and gas plant and two telephone systems. It has an assessed valuation of $37,890,780, 110 miles of streets, 16 miles of paving, 44 miles of sewer, 8.4 miles of street railway. There are nine parks of 102 acres. Adjoining the city is Lake Goguac, surrounded by beau tiful homes and estates. There are 16 lakes in the immediate vicinity that abound with fish, and State highways reach all parts of the county from the city. Battle Creek stands 3d among the cities of the State in the amount of post-office business. Pop. 25,267.