Bangor, MI

Bangor is a Van Buren County city whose early map was drawn by Black River and timber. Charles U. Cross explored the area in 1835, and by 1846 local families had helped build a water mill that served as a sawmill. The settlement became its own township in 1853, took the name Bangor in 1854, and saw the Chicago and Michigan Lakeshore Railroad arrive in 1870. Bangor's apple-country tag shows up each fall in the Michigan Apple Festival, while the Bangor-South Haven Heritage Water Trail points back to the waterways that helped start the place. Bangor is a southwest Michigan city with sawmill roots and an apple-season calendar.