Free Moving Estimate From Movers In: Kalamazoo, Michigan
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History of Kalamazoo, Michigan:
The City Is Named After The Kalamazoo River, But No One Is Certain As To Where The Name Kalamazoo Actually Comes From. A Lack Of Evidence Means That The Truth Will Likely Never Be Found, But There Are Four Common Theories:
It Is Derived From The Potawatomi Word Negikanamazo, Which Is Variously Translated As "otter Tail" Or "stones Like Otters." This Could Refer To Area Wildlife.
Most Widely Accepted Is Legend Of A Potawatomi Named Fleet Foot. In Order To Win His Bride, He Was Required To Run From His Settlement To A Point On The River And Back Before A Pot Of Water Boiled Away. This Event Is Thought To Have Occurred In 1810, A Couple Of Decades Before The First Permanent White Settlers. The Potawatomi Word Kikalamezo Appears On An 1823 Atlas Of The Area. The Word Translates As "boiling Pot" Or "place Where The Water Boils," And Refers To The Fleet Foot Legend.
The "boiling Pot" Translation May Also Refer To Various Nearby Bends In The River That Resemble Pots.
An Alternate Translation Of Kikalamezo Is "mirage" Or "reflecting Waters," And Could Refer To The Once-clear Waters Of The River, Which Are Now Much Less So Due To Pollution.
Yet Another Possibility Is It Meant A Place To Ford The River. The City Was Originally Established Near One Of The Few Places In The Area Where It Was Easy To Cross By Wading.
In Response To The Strange-sounding Name, Tee-shirts Are Sold In Kalamazoo That Feature The Phrase "Yes, There Really Is A Kalamazoo". Also, There Are Songs That Use The Word, Like Glenn Miller's "I've Got A Girl In Kalamazoo" And The One Linking Timbuktu And Kalamazoo.
The First White Settlement In The Area Was Registered In 1831 As The Village Of Bronson (not To Be Confused With The Much-smaller Bronson, Michigan About Fifty Miles To The South-southeast), After Founder Titus Bronson. Bronson Was Not The First European In The Area, There Had Been A Trading Post Before, But He Was The First To Stay.
He Has Been Frequently Described As "eccentric" And Was Later Run Out Of Town. The Village Bronson Was Renamed Kalamazoo In 1836. Today, Titus Bronson Has A Hospital And A Park Named After Him, Among Other Things.
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