Kalamazoo And How It Grew

Most of Kalamazoo County’s early white settlers were fur traders from England or New York. The remainder came from Pennsylvania and Maryland. After 1845 the number of foreign immigrants increased rapidly especially with the coming of the Hollanders in 1850. The growth rate of the county’s population reached its height between 1845-1860, when almost 8,000 newcomers settled there. That growth rate was not exceeded for 50 years when, between 1904-1920, the population grew to 214,000, quite an increase over the 1860 figure. Increased immigration, better transportation, and the appearance of diversified industries all played a role in Kalamazoo County’s growth.

“Every community has its roots in the past. Its people live in the present and look to the future, but their way of life and their patterns of thought are conditioned by their heritage. A widespread understanding of that heritage is essential in order that progress may be planned wisely.

“Hence, it has seemed desirable to gather into a single volume the story of Kalamazoo’s growth from a tiny fur-trading post in the wilderness to a modern metropolitan center.”—Willis F. Dunbar