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  Four Flags Area Chamber of Commerce - Niles, Michigan

Over 300 hundred years ago, the first European explorers settled in this beautiful river valley, making this area one of the oldest European settlements. Upon their arrival, they wrote in their journals about the hospitality of the natives, the natural beauty of the land, the combination of the climate, richness of the soil and the calming waters of the St. Joseph River Valley that produced an abundance of fish, fowl, fruits and vegetables. It is no wonder that four nations under four flags – France, England, Spain and the United States – fought for and defended this picturesque region.

The Four Flags Area is built around the St. Joseph River, a unique river that flows north, and has provided the citizens of the Four Flags Area with a different perspective on life. Like the river flowing north, citizens following the river’s course have strived onward and upward to prosperity. Continuing the tradition of the hospitality our Native Americans extended to the first explorers in 1679, the Four Flags Area extends a warm welcome to visitors and new residents alike.

The settlement of Niles was founded on the banks of the St. Joseph River as Fort St. Joseph in 1691, because this area offered the region’s safest river crossing. The Potowatomi Indians called this shallow, well-graveled ford a “pawating” and used it for centuries on their annual migration to summer on the cool shores of nearby Lake Michigan.

Today on this site, a bridge spans across the St. Joseph River adjacent to a regional medical center – taking the place of the safe passage for ferry and wagon. But the residents of the four Flags Area still walk the streets of the town of Niles safely among our historic buildings to transact business and industry, work or play. In downtown Niles, it's just a short walk away from shopping for treasures in one of our many antique shops, malls, or quaint downtown stores.