Union City Heritage Water Trail
Late in the seventeenth century, early French voyageurs made use of the entire length of the St. Joe in their push westward. The French built forts on the river at St. Joseph (1679) and Niles (1691) as strongholds for the fur trade. A memoir to the French Govt. in 1718 described the St. Joe Valley: "Tis a spot the best adapted of any to be seen for purposes of living. It is the richest district in all the country." There was a French trading post established near this spot in Union City. The proprietor did a brisk business exchanging calico, blankets, guns, powder and brandy for fur with the large number of Native Americans in the area. It is unclear how long it lasted, but after its abandonment there was an extended period of time when no settlers came into the vicinity. The first settler in the area, John Clawson, from Lagrange County, Indiana,established a small trading post near the same spot and began to barter with the Native Americans. Even though he was successful, he did not remain here long.| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 16T E 654145 N 4658681 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 42.06508333, -85.13686667 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 42° 3.905', W 85° 8.212' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 42° 3' 54.3" N, 85° 8' 12.72" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 517 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 2-98 Palmer Dr, Union City MI 49094, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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