Adjacent to Michiana Shores, Indiana, the village of Michiana, Michigan is in New Buffalo Township, Berrien County, in the extreme southwest corner of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
The village borders on Indiana to the south, Grand Beach to the east and northeast, and Lake Michigan to the northwest.
Although most of its streets are contiguous with those of Grand Beach and Michiana Shores, Lake Shore Drive is probably the chief route to the village from the south, although it doesn't continue on to Grand Beach. Michiana Drive and Grand Beach Road form the village's southern and eastern boundaries, respectively.
Michigan cities and villages within twenty miles of Michiana include Grand Beach, which abuts the village, New Buffalo, Three Oaks, and Galien, while the unincorporated communities of Union Pier and Lakeside are within ten miles. Indiana localities within twenty miles of the village include Michiana Shores, which abuts Michiana, and Long Beach, Pottawattamie Park, Springfield, Michigan City, Trail Creek, Pine, Beverly Shores, La Porte, Westchester, Dune Acres, Porter, and Chesterton. Michiana is less than seventy miles from Chicago, but more than two hundred miles from Detroit.
The village is a residential shoreline community, triangular in shape, covering an area of 235 acres. Its streets are paved, mostly lined with trees, and of narrow width by most standards, and designed for low traffic volume. All of its public roads are under the jurisdiction of the village, as no county, state, or federal roadways come within the village limits.
All but two of the homes in the village are single-family detached homes, and there are no mobile homes. However, approximately thirty percent of the homes in Michiana are seasonal, recreational, or for occasional use. During cold winters, as little as a third of the homes in the village may be occupied, and most homeowners have their legal residence elsewhere.
Because of its densely wooded and marshy terrain, Michiana was one of the last resort communities in southwestern Berrien County to develop and, until 1927, it was considered part of Michiana Shores, Indiana. At that time, the area was divided between the two states, and the two villages were developed simultaneously by the Long Beach Development Company, with Indiana retaining Michiana Shores, while the Michigan part of the community became Michiana.
The Michigan development was the first to incorporate in 1945 and, unwilling to lose its identity, the name Michiana was chosen. Since then, the village has slowly begun a transition from a summer vacation resort to a year-round community. Although its beaches are open to the public, there is no public parking, and most of the lakefront homes are owned by Chicago residents who summer in Michiana. Its peak population was 333 in 1980. By 1990, the village had lost more than half of its year-round residents, and more than twenty percent of that by 2000. Its current population is under two hundred and, while there may be some home businesses, there are no brick-and-mortar businesses of the type that customers drive up to. There are no schools or churches within the village, either.
The focus of this portion of our guide is on the village of Michiana, and websites or other online resources representing anything within the village would be appropriate for this category.
Recommended Resources
Situated in the southwest corner of Berrien County, bordering Indiana to the south and Lake Michigan to the west, Michiana, Michigan is a residential resort village. The official municipal website posts the location of the village offices, the office telephone number, and the non-emergency number for the police department, as well as contacts for the administrative offices, the village charter, master plan, state audit data, the history of the community, and a guide to village services.
https://michianavillage.org/
