Mendon, MI

Mendon is a St. Joseph County village within Mendon Township, set along the St. Joseph River in southwestern Michigan. The village's early history reaches back to French pioneers who settled along the river and traded with Potawatomi and other Algonquian-speaking peoples. The 2010 census counted 870 residents, and the 2023 estimate was 868. The river remains the clearest feature on the local map, running beside the village and giving the town a natural gathering line.

Mendon Riverfest turns that setting into a full weekend of local tradition at Reed River Park. The festival began in 1987 at the historic Wakeman House and moved to the park around 1989 as attendance outgrew the original venue. Today's schedule includes live music, food vendors, craft booths, river activities, canoe games, toy boat and duck races, and fireworks over the water. Mendon's schools and village streets handle the ordinary rhythm of the year, while Riverfest gives the St. Joseph River a prominent place in the community's shared calendar.