Calhoun County (pop. 136,146) is west of Jackson County. It is one of 11 Calhoun counties in the U.S. – all named for John C. Calhoun, U.S. senator from South Carolina and vice president under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.
The county seat of Calhoun County is the city of Marshall (pop. 7,080).
Downtown Marshall in the ’60s
The Honolulu House in Marshall was built in 1860 by the first U.S. consul to the Sandwich Islands.
Now a museum
The American Museum of Magic in Marshall has a large collection of magical paraphernalia, including many items that once belonged to magician Harry Blackstone, Sr.
The museum opened in 1978.
The largest city in Calhoun County is Battle Creek (pop. 52,347).
Heritage Tower and Battle Creek Tower (both 1931)
Battle Creek is the world headquarters of Kellogg Company, founded in 1906 by Will Kellogg – whose brother, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, invented cold breakfast cereal. Post Cereals also began in Battle Creek.
Battle Creek is known as “Cereal City.”
Dr. Kellogg’s Battle Creek Sanitarium opened in 1876. The sanitarium’s tower building was built in 1928; it was converted into a military hospital in 1942 and into a federal office building (now the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center) in 1954.
Future senators Hart, Dole, and Inouye met there during WWII.
Battle Creek has an annual Cereal Festival, featuring “The World’s Longest Breakfast Table.”
The festival dates from 1956.
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), abolitionist and women’s rights advocate, lived in Battle Creek for many years and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery there.
12-foot statue in Battle Creek
Comedian Thomas Richard “Dick” Martin (1922-2008) was born in Battle Creek and graduated from Michigan State University.
On “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”
The city of Albion (pop. 8,616) is the home of Albion College, a liberal arts college founded in 1835.
It has about 1,300 students.
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