Born in Vermont in 1802, David S. Walbridge became one of Kalamazoo's most distinguished citizens. He moved here in the early 1840s and was a founding member of the First Presbyterian Church. Active in the business community, Walbridge set up a general store, bought a large flour mill, and invested in flat boats and plank road construction to transport his goods. His deep interest in Whig politics led to his participation in the first state Republican convention in Jackson, where he was named permanent chairman of the meeting. Elected to Congress in 1855, he served until 1858. His other offices included terms as postmaster and state legislator. After years of service to his party and to Michigan, David S. Walbridge died in Kalamazoo in 1868.

NOTE: David Walbridge once operated a store near what is now the Mall, see the A GLIMPSE OF EARLY KALAMAZOO page.  As noted in the marker during the 1840's David Walbridge operated flat boats.  Those boats carried goods down the Kalamazoo River to its mouth on Lake Michigan for transshipment via the great lakes.

Dr. William E. Upjohn (1853-1932), founder of the Upjohn Company, was known as Kalamazoo's "First Citizen" because of his active role in the community. He helped institute the commission-manager form of government and served as the city's first mayor under the new system (1918-1921). He helped direct the construction of Bronson Hospital (1904) and several area churches (1926). He also established the Kalamazoo Foundation (1925) and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research (1932). His belief in the "happy use of leisure time" led him to donate land for Upjohn Park (1919), to help fund an "Art House" (1928) and a municipal golf course (1929) and to build the Civic Auditorium (1931).

The Upjohn Pill and Granule Company was founded on this site in 1886 by Dr. William E. Upjohn and his three brothers -- Dr. Henry U., Frederick L. and Dr. James T. Upjohn. The pill making factory began in the basement of a commercial block, where the Upjohn brothers turned out their specialty, "friable pills." By years end the company employed twelve people, manufactured 186 different medicinal formulas and had moved to a new building on Farmer's Alley. In 1888 the company moved again, this time to Lovell Street, where it celebrated a century of operations in 1986. The Upjohn Company (renamed in 1902) is a world-wide provider of pharmaceutical, agricultural and chemical products and health-care services.

Molded by the melting of the mile-high glaciers the Kalamazoo River Valley comprises one of Michigan's most significant drainage basins. The river originates in Hillsdale County and from the junction of its two main branches near Albion to its mouth on Lake Michigan it drops 352 feet while meandering 138 miles through Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Allegan Counties.  The river and its banks are symbolized in the paving impressions in this plaza

KALAMAZOO RIVER ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

A watery high of the Potawatomi, the Kalamazoo River beckoned to pioneers who soon dotted its length with frontier settlements.  Its waters powered early industry and floated rafts of flour and logs to markets.  Many generations fished its depths, harvested mussels that lined its bottom and enjoyed its scenic grandeur.  By the 1930s eleven electric-generating dams harnessed its flow

KALAMAZOO RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL IMPORTANCE

American Indians harvested vast fields of wild rice near the mouth of the Kalamazoo and drank its crystal waters.  But by the mid 1800s the river served as a drain for industrial pollutants and urban sewage.  Industrial contaminates emerged as a public concern in 1971 and a citizen-government partnership began working to return the river to its natural state.