| a city in S Michigan. 35,724. |
| Battle Creek A city of southern Michigan east of Kalamazoo. Breakfast cereals and other food products are important to its economy. Population: 52,800. |
Battle Creek
city, Calhoun county, south-central Michigan, U.S. It lies at the juncture of Battle Creek with the Kalamazoo River, about 20 miles (30 km) east of Kalamazoo and about 45 miles (70 km) southwest of Lansing. Settled in 1831 and named in 1834 for a "battle" that had taken place on the riverbank between two Indians and two members of a surveying party, it became a flour- and woolen-mill centre and the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. In 1866 the Adventists founded the Western Health Reform Institute (renamed Battle Creek Sanitarium, 1878, and Battle Creek Health Center, 1959). Under the direction (1876-1943) of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the sanitarium experimented with health foods, leading to the manufacture of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, which became the city's main industry. The Cereal Festival, with "the world's longest breakfast table," is an annual (June) event. In addition to the Kellogg, Post, and Ralston cereal plants, there are manufacturers of auto parts, packaging machinery, and metal and paper products. The U.S. government operates a defense logistics centre and a number of other agencies on the former grounds of the Battle Creek Sanitarium.
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