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Kalamazoo, Michigan, a little more ...

Kalamazoo is the largest city in and the county seat of Kalamazoo County.

Kalamazoo is home to Western Michigan University, a nationally recognized research institution that has benefited from the local presence of Pfizer, Eaton Corporation and Stryker Corporation. This has enabled the school to offer strong programs in both its College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Haworth College of Business. The city is also home to Kalamazoo College (often referred to as "K College"), a liberal arts school located adjacent to WMU's campus.

The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency still remains in the form of a small mound downtown in Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to decline at some point after the eighth century and was replaced by other groups. The Pottawatomi culture was resident in the area at the time the first European explorers arrived.

The city is named for the Kalamazoo River, but there is debate as to where the name Kalamazoo actually comes from. It is generally thought that the name originates in the language of either the Potawatomi or Odawa peoples who were native to the area at the time of European settlement.

See also: The History of Kalamazoo County, Michigan

Additional information provided by: Wikipedia