Muskegon

Muskegon County is located in Western Michigan, U.S.A. and borders the shores of Lake Michigan. Besides being located near the Lake and having many built-in recreational options, Muskegon County is host to many events and attractions. According to the 2000 Census, Muskegon County has a population of 170,200. Catch The Wave to Muskegon County! The human occupation of the Muskegon area goes back seven or eight thousand years to the nomadic Paleo-Indian hunters who occupied this area following the retreat of the Wisconsinian glaciation. The Paleo-Indians were succeeded by several stages of woodland Indian development, the most notable of whom were the Hopewellian type cultures that occupied this area perhaps two thousand years ago. During historic times the Muskegon area was inhabited by various bands of Ottawa and Pottawatomi tribes. Perhaps the best remembered of the historic Indian inhabitants of this area was the noted Ottawa Indian chief, Pendalouan. A leading participant in the French-inspired annihilation of the Fox Indians of Illinois in the 1730s, he and his people lived in the vicinity of Muskegon during the 1730s and 1740s until induced by the French to move their settlement to the Traverse Bay area in 1742. The name "Muskegon" is derived from the Ottawa Indian term "Masquigon" meaning "marshy river" or "swamp." The "Masquigon" river is identified on French maps dating from the late seventeenth century, suggesting that the French explorers had reached the western coast of Michigan by that time. Over the years, Muskegon has attracted a unique mix of residents which has helped to shape the cultural and intellectual make-up of the community. The original settlers of the nineteenth century were typically native-born Americans from New England, New York, and Pennsylvania. They were quickly joined by immigrants from Canada, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

The industrial surge at the the turn of the nineteenth century attracted large numbers of Southern Europeans to the area, while World War II witnessed the arrival of large numbers of Mexican-Americans, Southern blacks, and Appalachian whites. The melting pot diversity of Muskegon's ethnic heritage is in keeping with the varied nature of other elements of its recent past.

3 °C


Clouds, overcast clouds


Wind5.36 m/s
Cloudiness100 %
Temperature (min/max)0/3 °C
Pressure1001 hpa
Humidity84 %
Last update: 21 Nov 2024 @ 12:44

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