(Most of the following is from www.Wikipedia.org)
Three Oaks is a village in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,829 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Three Oaks Township. Three Oaks is located in the southwest corner of Michigan, between Niles and New Buffalo. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.0 square miles (2.5 km²), all land.
The village of Three Oaks is located in the southwest corner of Michigan, just 5 miles from the shores of Lake Michigan and within 2 miles of the Indiana border. The village was first settled by Henry Chamberlain in 1850 and became a village in 1867. The village was originally called Chamberlain's Siding but was changed to Three Oaks. These oak trees were a guidepoint for train engineers. None of the original three oak trees remain today; the last was cut down nearly a 100 years ago.
Three Oak's hometown pride is evident during its Flag Day Celebration in June. The celebration and Flag Day Parade is (we say) the largest in the country.
Three Oaks celebrated the centennial of receiving the Dewey Cannon at the village's Flag Day Festival (June 9 - 11, 2000). This cannon, captured in the Spanish-American War by Admiral Dewey, was presented to Three Oaks when its citizens raised $1,400 for a memorial to the men of the battleship Maine. This was the largest contribution, per capita, of any community in the nation. "Three Oaks Against the World", a local paper proudly boasted. This park was dedicated October 17, 1899, by President William McKinley and others. Presentation of the cannon took place on June 28, 1900. Guest of honor was Helen Miller Gould, called the Spanish-American War's "Florence Nightingale".
The Christmas movie Prancer, released in 1989, was filmed on location largely in the village of Three Oaks (other locations in nearby LaPorte, Indiana were also used). You will hear "Three Oaks" mentioned throughout the movie. And a sequel, Prancer Returns, was made in 2001, (filming location Uxbridge, Ontario), in which a boy comes to Three Oaks to learn about the "Prancer incident".
Three Oaks is also home to the Warren Featherbone Factory, which was built over a century ago to strip turkey feathers of their quills to use in women's garments of the era, such as corsets, which used "stiffeners". This replacement for the "whalebone" material was welcomed by the garment industry of the late 19th century. The factory still stands today and is the site of a yard ornamentation market.
P.O. Box 335
14 E Maple Street
Three Oaks, MI 49128
Phone: 269-756-9221
Fax: 269-756-3031
Office Hours
Mon - Thur 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
President - David Grosse
Clerk - Cindi Moynihan
Treasurer - Amy Hemphill
Village Manager - Pat Yoder
Streets
Supervisor - Todd Noble
Police
Emergency -- call 911
Chief - Frank Nekvasil
Phone: 269-756-9585
Fax: 269-756-9586
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