In a message dated 1/31/2004 9:34:58 AM Eastern Standard Time,
rmjohnso(a)infionline.net writes:
Just read in "History of St Joseph County, Indiana" that Dodge's was founded
in 1875.. and they manufactured school furniture. Is that true?? When did
they start making pulleys?
I always thought that Mishawaka, the Princess city, was named after an Indian
princess... but the same history says that ; 'Mishawaka' has more to do
with describing the river. What then does Princess City imply?
According to a book authored by Betty Berger Hans:
In 1878, Wallace Dodge formed the "Magic Jack Company", with his brother
William, as the treasurer, They manufactured a superior wagon jack. The added the
manufacturing of saw frames, door steps, curtain poles, curtain rings, saw
bucks, brackets and wooden hardware specialties to the company's products.
School furniture was in the long list of commodities sold. In 1879, the Dodge
brother bought the business of Wachs and Schmidt, a frame building located south
of the railroad tracks on Union Street and changed the name to Dodge
Manufacturing Corporation.
In 1881 the building was struck by lightening and destroyed. The plant was
rebuilt, and by 1884 , they were manufacturing only a wood split pulley that
had been patented on July 14, 1882. The wood split pulley had a continuos wrap
system on transmission power, and used a single, endless rope to convey the
power.
It goes on to list the other happenings with the company in later years.
Now as for the name of the city according to this same book:
Until 1800, northern Indiana was only Indian Trails. Indians roamed the
land, hunting wild animals for food and furs. The Potawatomi Indiana tribe of the
Miami Nation lived in northern Indiana and southern Michigan, along the Saint
Joseph River and it tributaries. Pokagan was their chief. The aborigines
hunted the forest, fished the streams, and traded furs and pelts with white men
that crossed his region.
The Indian name for the river was Sauk-Wauk-Sit-Buck. Explorer LaSalle named
it River of the Miami's because of the Indians that occupied its banks.
Indiana (Land of the Indians) became part of the Northwest Territory in 1787.
Indiana became a state on December 11, 1916.
Some Indian villages in the northern region were Mus-con-gi-non, Wee-Saw,
Poc-ka-gon, Mon-gon-gham-con and Mish-a-wa-kee or -ka.
In the late 1700's, Mish-a-wa-kee or -ka was a Potawatomi hunting village on
the hill above the rapids of the Sauk-Wauk-sit-buck River, Mish-a-wa-kee or
-ka means "Swift Water", "Big Rapids", or "Thick Woods
Rapids" in the Indian
language. The village was wiped out by a small pox epidemic in 1819-1820. The
Indians became afraid and superstitious of the spot and avoided it after that.
In 1823, Alexis Coquillard established a trading post on the east bend of the
Saint Joseph River in what was to become South Bend and ran a ferry there.
Now the legend states:
Mishawaka, the Princess City, lies nestled along the meandering path of the
St. Joseph River. The city is named after Princess Mishawaka, daughter of
Shawnee Chief Elkhart. The legend of her romance with white trapper Deadshot, and
abduction by her jealous Indian suitor Grey Wolf, characterizes the mixture of
romance and history still found in Mishawaka today.
There is a monument erected to Princess Mishawaka located in Lincoln Park
near the river.
Now just how true this legend is still is a mystery to me, since it was the
Potawatomi and the Miami that were in this region in the early 1800's
Michigan has a legend of this same Princess Mishawaka and it goes like this:
Our first legend takes place in the area that is now known as Three Rivers,
Michigan, named for the three rivers, St. Joseph, Portage, and Rocky which
intersect this town. In the late 1700’s, before the influx of settlers, this
fertile land was coveted by many Native American tribes. The Potowatomi Tribe had
already claimed this area as their Council Fire. Chief Elkhart of a Shawnee
Tribe, whose band was located south, on the mighty St. Joseph River, was once
allied with this Potawatomi Tribe. Because of Chief Elkhart’s desire for this
rich land he had broken alliance and sought to invade this area and claim it for
his own. He traveled up the St. Joseph River with his war party, but unique to
this story he brought with him his daughter, the beautiful Princess
Mishawaka. The battle ensued, Chief Elkhart was wounded and Princess Mishawaka took
command of the invading forces. The battle ended on what is now called Memory
Isle, a beautiful public park located in Three Rivers just west of the Historical
Downtown District. A magnificent mural now graces Memory Island which is also
home to the Annual Rocky River Rendezvous, a pre-1840’s encampment celebrated
each year in August. But that’s not all of the story. Princess Mishawaka was
captured and held at a neutral tribes camp for political reasons. There she
met and fell in love with a white hunter named Dead Shot. Dead Shot was friends
with the area Native Americans and he and Princess Mishawaka married and spent
the rest of their lives in the Three Rivers area. When the Princess died she
was buried on an island in the St. Joseph River, north of the historical
Langley Covered Bridge.
So which legend is true?
Sharon Gill Vanden Bossche
Homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/sharonv45/index.html
E-mail: SharonV45(a)aol.com
Visit my Memorial to Family Veterans at:
http://www.freewebs.com/sharonv45/index.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why is Leonard Peltier still in prison...???
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.freepeltier.org
Sharon Gill Vanden Bossche
Homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/sharonv45/index.html
E-mail: SharonV45(a)aol.com
Visit my Memorial to Family Veterans at:
http://www.freewebs.com/sharonv45/index.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why is Leonard Peltier still in prison...???
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.freepeltier.org