.gif)
Portage River (St. Joseph County)
Encyclopedia
Portage River is a 38.6 miles (62.1 km) river that flows southward through Kalamazoo County
and St. Joseph County, Michigan
. Its headwaters are 8 miles (13 km) east of the city of Kalamazoo
at Portage Lake, and the river flows southwest to its mouth within the city limits of Three Rivers
, where it drains into the St. Joseph River
.
and the St. Joseph River
. Tributaries of the two rivers run within 1.25 miles (2 km) of each other within what is now the large Kalamazoo suburb of Portage
. From the high ground of this suburb, two creeks, both named Portage Creek, run north and south toward their respective drainage basins. The suburban city, creeks, and river are all named after this portage
or carrying-place for birch bark
and dugout
canoes, a key link in the Native American
infrastructure of what was to become the state of Michigan
.
period left behind a large number of kettles
, ponds, and bogs. The headwaters and upper reaches of the Portage River once contained countless examples of post-glacial wetlands. Farmers built drainage
ditches to dry out many of the wetter flatlands for arable cropland, and significant population growth south of Kalamazoo has led to further alterations in the landscape. Many of the larger glacial lakes remain:
, and French traders. A pow-wow
is held annually in Three Rivers to celebrate this history, along with a reenactor camp of French traders. A famous battle between the Pottawatomi and the Shawnee under Chief Elkhart took place on the banks of the Portage River in 1802, and is commemorated by a plaque in Three Rivers.
Portage Creek (the south-flowing Portage Creek, part of the Portage River drainage) drops 8 feet (2.4 m) at what is now the town of Vicksburg
. In 1831 John Vickers spied this power source and built a gristmill
on the creek, thereby flooding Sunset Lake and founding the town that would be named after him.
Dutch and Low German
farmers with experience in wetlands horticulture took charge of the river region's wetlands during the decades after the American Civil War
. The southern Kalamazoo region was one of the first locations in the United States where celery
for salads was grown. (Traditional English and American popular cooking traditions of that time demanded that all vegetables be boiled or otherwise cooked before being served.) For several generations the Portage River area led the nation in celery production. Other specialty crops grown on Portage River "muckland" included peppermint
and spearmint
. On the Portage River's high sandy banks further south, strawberries were cultivated. The best known strawberry farm was R. M. Kellogg's in Three Rivers, founded in 1896. The R. M. Kellogg farms also maintained a popular tourist attraction, the Kellogg Gardens, elaborate gardens with many unusual structures, next to the Portage River in the city of Three Rivers.
Although the river today is used almost exclusively for recreation, up until the early 1900s it served as a corridor for transportation and commerce. Frank Dentler of Parkville operated a paddle wheel steamboat for the transportation of goods to the railroad lines, down river to Three Rivers and up river to the Portage Station near Portage Lake (St. Joseph County.)
ers. Fishing is excellent and includes largemouth bass
, smallmouth bass
, and walleye
, but check the State of Michigan Department of Health's fish advisory http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/1,1607,7-132-2944_5327-13110--,00.html before eating any river or lake fish.
The Portage River's banks form a riparian wetland ecosystem, rich in characteristic species such as painted turtle
s, wood duck
s, and bullfrog
s, as well as many rare and unusual native plants and plant communities. The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy maintains the Hidden Marsh Sanctuary, a wilderness preserve and walking trail along the Portage River just north of the city of Three Rivers. One of the river's headwater bogs remains in conservancy status, namely Bishop's Bog in Portage, Michigan.
, and the Hoffman Street Dam and the Boy's Dam from Hoffman Pond in Three Rivers.
Kalamazoo County, Michigan
-Air Service:*The Kalamazoo & Battle Creek Metro Area is served by Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport.-Interstates:* I-94* I-94 Business Loop-US highways:* US-131* BUS US 131-Michigan State Trunklines:* M-43* M-89* M-96...
and St. Joseph County, Michigan
St. Joseph County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,422 people, 23,381 households, and 16,600 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 26,503 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile...
. Its headwaters are 8 miles (13 km) east of the city of Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
at Portage Lake, and the river flows southwest to its mouth within the city limits of Three Rivers
Three Rivers, Michigan
Three Rivers is a city in St. Joseph County in the US state of Michigan. The population was 7,811 at the 2010 census.Three Rivers derives its name from the confluence of the St. Joseph River with its tributaries the Rocky and Portage Rivers. It is the home of St...
, where it drains into the St. Joseph River
St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)
The St. Joseph River is a river, approximately long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan...
.
Origin of name
Portage, the French word for "carry", refers to transporting a canoe overland, either between waterways or around an obstacle. The French word is used, although the river was used by the Potawattomi and other Native Americans for trade and transportation before the French arrived. The Portage River and a major tributary, Portage Creek, form a key water link between the drainage basins of the Kalamazoo RiverKalamazoo River
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch...
and the St. Joseph River
St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)
The St. Joseph River is a river, approximately long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan...
. Tributaries of the two rivers run within 1.25 miles (2 km) of each other within what is now the large Kalamazoo suburb of Portage
Portage, Michigan
Portage is a city in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 46,292 at the 2010 census. It is the smaller of the two main cities included in the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 326,589 as of 2010.Portage is adjacent to the...
. From the high ground of this suburb, two creeks, both named Portage Creek, run north and south toward their respective drainage basins. The suburban city, creeks, and river are all named after this portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
or carrying-place for birch bark
Birch bark
Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus Betula.The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which made it a valuable building, crafting, and writing material, since pre-historic times...
and dugout
Dugout (boat)
A dugout or dugout canoe is a boat made from a hollowed tree trunk. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. Monoxylon is Greek -- mono- + ξύλον xylon -- and is mostly used in classic Greek texts. In Germany they are called einbaum )...
canoes, a key link in the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
infrastructure of what was to become the state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
Impact of glaciation
The Wisconsin glaciationWisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
period left behind a large number of kettles
Kettle (geology)
A kettle is a shallow, sediment-filled body of water formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters.-Overview:...
, ponds, and bogs. The headwaters and upper reaches of the Portage River once contained countless examples of post-glacial wetlands. Farmers built drainage
Drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
ditches to dry out many of the wetter flatlands for arable cropland, and significant population growth south of Kalamazoo has led to further alterations in the landscape. Many of the larger glacial lakes remain:
- Austin Lake, in Portage, is the largest lake in the Portage River drainage.
- Gourdneck Lake, near Portage, is so called because its unusual shape is said to resemble a mature gourdGourdA gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...
. - Indian Lake is the site of a longtime campsite of the PotawatomiPotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
tribe of Native Americans. - Portage Lake in St. Joseph County (not the source lake in Kalamazoo County with the same name) covers 510 acres (2.1 km²).
History of river
The Portage River was an early trade route for the Pottawatomi, Ojibwa, OttawaCouncil of Three Fires
The Council of Three Fires, also known as the People of the Three Fires, the Three Fires Confederacy, the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians, or Niswi-mishkodewin in the Anishinaabe language, is a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe , Ottawa , and Potawatomi...
, and French traders. A pow-wow
Pow-wow
A pow-wow is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader". A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American...
is held annually in Three Rivers to celebrate this history, along with a reenactor camp of French traders. A famous battle between the Pottawatomi and the Shawnee under Chief Elkhart took place on the banks of the Portage River in 1802, and is commemorated by a plaque in Three Rivers.
Portage Creek (the south-flowing Portage Creek, part of the Portage River drainage) drops 8 feet (2.4 m) at what is now the town of Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Michigan
Vicksburg is a village in Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,320 at the 2000 census.The village is located mostly within Schoolcraft Township on the east side, though a portion is also within Brady Township.-History:...
. In 1831 John Vickers spied this power source and built a gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
on the creek, thereby flooding Sunset Lake and founding the town that would be named after him.
Dutch and Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
farmers with experience in wetlands horticulture took charge of the river region's wetlands during the decades after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The southern Kalamazoo region was one of the first locations in the United States where celery
Celery
Apium graveolens is a plant species in the family Apiaceae commonly known as celery or celeriac , depending on whether the petioles or roots are eaten: celery refers to the former and celeriac to the latter. Apium graveolens grows to 1 m tall...
for salads was grown. (Traditional English and American popular cooking traditions of that time demanded that all vegetables be boiled or otherwise cooked before being served.) For several generations the Portage River area led the nation in celery production. Other specialty crops grown on Portage River "muckland" included peppermint
Peppermint
Peppermint is a hybrid mint, a cross between the watermint and spearmint . The plant, indigenous to Europe, is now widespread in cultivation throughout all regions of the world...
and spearmint
Spearmint
Mentha spicata syn. M. cordifolia is a species of mint native to much of Europe and southwest Asia, though its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive early cultivation. It grows in wet soils...
. On the Portage River's high sandy banks further south, strawberries were cultivated. The best known strawberry farm was R. M. Kellogg's in Three Rivers, founded in 1896. The R. M. Kellogg farms also maintained a popular tourist attraction, the Kellogg Gardens, elaborate gardens with many unusual structures, next to the Portage River in the city of Three Rivers.
Although the river today is used almost exclusively for recreation, up until the early 1900s it served as a corridor for transportation and commerce. Frank Dentler of Parkville operated a paddle wheel steamboat for the transportation of goods to the railroad lines, down river to Three Rivers and up river to the Portage Station near Portage Lake (St. Joseph County.)
The river today
Much of the Portage River remains wet and wooded today. Trees have been allowed to re-grow along the river's banks, which are unsuited for agriculture. The river is enjoyed by canoeists and kayakKayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
ers. Fishing is excellent and includes largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
, and walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, but check the State of Michigan Department of Health's fish advisory http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/1,1607,7-132-2944_5327-13110--,00.html before eating any river or lake fish.
The Portage River's banks form a riparian wetland ecosystem, rich in characteristic species such as painted turtle
Painted Turtle
The painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to Louisiana and northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The turtle is the only species of the genus Chrysemys, which is part of the pond turtle...
s, wood duck
Wood Duck
The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...
s, and bullfrog
Bullfrog
The American bullfrog , often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is an aquatic frog, a member of the family Ranidae, or “true frogs”, native to much of North America. This is a frog of larger, permanent water bodies, swamps, ponds, and lakes, where it is usually found...
s, as well as many rare and unusual native plants and plant communities. The Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy maintains the Hidden Marsh Sanctuary, a wilderness preserve and walking trail along the Portage River just north of the city of Three Rivers. One of the river's headwater bogs remains in conservancy status, namely Bishop's Bog in Portage, Michigan.
Dams
Dams along the Portage River include the historic Cook's Mill Dam in Kalamazoo County, Parkville Dam and mill site near ParkvilleParkville, Michigan
Parkville is an unincorporated community in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in Park Township on the banks of the Portage River at .- History :...
, and the Hoffman Street Dam and the Boy's Dam from Hoffman Pond in Three Rivers.