![]() South Haven is home to a public school district as well as Roman Catholic and Lutheran parochial grammar schools. ![]() The South Pier Lighthouse, built in 1903 to replace the light established in 1872, is still operational, and is accessible from a public beach. The beaches, boating and relaxing atmosphere will continue to ensure that the City of South Haven remains a popular warm-weather destination. Other events, such as the Ice Breaker Festival, Harborfest, the art shows and Fourth of July fireworks display remain very popular. To this day the Blueberry Festival continues to draw many visitors to the city. ![]() In 1970, "The Centennial Celebration and Blueberry Festival" took place, and the city's 64-slip marina was dedicated. In the 1950s and 1960s several new factories came to the area, and although the resort businesses in the area began to flounder, the resorts that remained grew stronger. The last passenger steamboat left South Haven for Chicago on Labor Day, 1941, though recreational boating increased steadily. In 1925, the first foreign shipments of goods arrived, beginning an era of foreign shipments that would last until the mid-1960s. Being a resort city resulted in a seasonal economy, however, and in an effort to stabilize the economy, the city's board of trade successfully recruited several different industries to the area.īoat from Chicago to South Haven, circa 1910 Around the early 1900s, theaters, a casino, an opera house, an amusement park, and many resorts contributed to a rise in popularity of the city. The farming industry created many jobs in the area, and the city began to boom. The timber harvested in South Haven was shipped to Chicago and Milwaukee via steamboats and schooners, and the cleared forests were then used by fruit farmers, who primarily grew peaches, blueberries and apples. The building was subsequently moved a few doors south and still stands, though greatly modified, and no longer used as a hotel. In 1853, the first hotel in South Haven, known as the Forest House, was built at the corner of Phoenix and Center Streets. South Haven was named in relation to nearby Grand Haven. South Haven was incorporated as a village in 1869, and as a city in 1902. About this time, the settlement gained its first merchant, physician, lawyer, and minister, and the first schoolhouse was built. In the 1850s the first permanent settlers arrived, and early in the decade the first steam sawmills were built on the Black River. ![]() Monroe a land patent for 65 acres of land along the shore of Lake Michigan. Prior to colonization by white settlers, the area was inhabited at different times by Potawatomi and Iroquois native people. His childhood home was presented to the city in the 1930s, and is now a museum. Noted botanist Liberty Hyde Bailey was born in South Haven. Nearby are Van Buren State Park and the Van Buren Trail State Park. It is the western terminus of the Kal-Haven Trail, popular with bicyclists and snowmobilers. In the early 1900s South Haven became a resort town, sometimes referred to as "The Catskills of the Midwest." South Haven is a major regional tourist draw because of its recreational harbor and beaches. During settlement, major ship lines stopped there, both passenger and freight. The population was 4,403 at the 2010 census.īecause of its position on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Black River, South Haven has always been a port city. Most of the city is in Van Buren County, although a small portion extends into Allegan County.
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