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Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph river and a twin city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 46,557 at the 2000 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City." History
Mishawaka, Indiana, is a growing commercial city in Northern Indiana, located next to South Bend. Mishawaka is named for the legendary 19th century Shawnee Indian princess Mishawaka, daughter of invading Shawnee Chief Elkhart. In the 1820s, bog iron deposits were discovered in the area. Several small towns arose to exploit these deposits, including one called St. Joseph Iron Works, where a blast furnace was built. In 1833, St. Joseph Iron Works was incorporated with three other small towns as the town of Mishawaka. In 1839, the Kamm & Schellinger Brewery was built, now the 100 Center shopping plaza. Mint was grown all around Mishawaka and by 1900, the city became known as "the peppermint capital of the world." In 1872, fire ravaged most of Mishawaka’s business district. When the city was rebuil, the Dodge Manufacturing Company, Perkins Windmills, and the Mishawaka Woolen and Rubber Company (later Ball Band, then Uniroyal) set up manufacturing plants. Ball Band made rubber garments and was hit by a major strike in 1931, but flourished in the 1940s, finally closing in 1997 in the face of cheaper imports. Manufacturing in Mishawaka peaked in the 1940s and began a slow decline as the economic base shifted to services, such as medicine. The population is ethnically diverse, with large Italian, German and Belgian settlements dating from the late 19th century. Its income is below the national average ($18,434 per capita in 2000, compared with $21,587 nationally). In 1979, University Park Mall opened north of Mishawaka, beginning a move toward retail business. In 1990, AM General began producing the Hummer in its Mishawaka plant. Although much of the rest of the city's heavy industry was gone by the turn of the 21st century, Mishawaka retains a thriving commercial district that is home to one of the largest retail centers in Indiana, the Grape Road/N Main St shopping corridor, which serves all of Michiana. Research Tips
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