St. Joseph County (pop. 61,295) is east of Cass County. The only other St. Joseph County is nearby, in Indiana.

The county seat of St. Joseph County is the village of Centreville (pop. 1,425).

St. Joseph County Courthouse (1899)

Actor Verne Troyer grew up in Centreville. He played the part of “Mini-Me” in the Austin Powers movies.

He is 2 feet, 8 inches tall.

The largest city in St. Joseph County is the city of Sturgis (pop. 10,994), hometown of Motel 6 spokesman Tom Bodett.

The Strand Theater in downtown Sturgis has been operating since 1941.

It now has four screens.

The Mottville Speedway, in Mottville Township, opened in 1950.

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The village of Colon (pop. 1,173) was named for the punctuation mark, not the body part.

Colon was the longtime home of magician Harry Blackstone, Sr. (1885-1965). Colon has several magic-supply businesses, and it hosts an annual magic convention.

Blackstone’s grave, Lakeside Cemetery

At Colon High School, the sports teams are called the Magi.

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