Best Web Design in Battle Creek, MI (2026)

Web Design for Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek is 'Cereal City,' the Michigan town where the Kellogg brothers accidentally flaked corn at a health sanitarium and C.W. Post built a breakfast-food empire, making it the cereal capital of the world. Beyond breakfast, it was a major Underground Railroad stop and the adopted home of abolitionist and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth.

AppWT serves Battle Creek and the surrounding Michigan area from Livonia, Michigan.

About Battle Creek

Also known as. Cereal City. Cereal City USA.

History. Founded in 1831 by Sands McCamly, incorporated as a village in 1840 and as a city in 1859; it takes its name from the Battle Creek River, tied to a disputed 1824 encounter between a federal survey party and Potawatomi tribe members. The city was a major stop on the Underground Railroad for people escaping slavery en route to Michigan and Canada. Sojourner Truth settled in Battle Creek after escaping slavery and made it her home. The Seventh-day Adventist Church held its 1863 founding convention in Battle Creek and established early institutions there, including a hospital, college, and publishing office. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's Battle Creek Sanitarium became a world-famous health resort; his brother W.K. Kellogg founded the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company in 1906, and C.W. Post launched Postum in 1895 and Grape-Nuts in 1897. In the first decade of the 20th century more than 80 cereal companies operated in Battle Creek during the 'cereal boom.' In 1912, world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson was arrested in Battle Creek.

Local economy. Denso Manufacturing (automotive parts) is a top employer with about 2,500 workers. WK Kellogg Co (foods) employs roughly 2,000 people; the company was founded in the city. FireKeepers Casino Hotel employs about 1,730 people. The Veterans Administration Medical Center employs about 1,670 people. Battle Creek is the founding city of Post Consumer Brands, keeping its cereal-industry identity. Fort Custer Recreation Area and the associated federal presence are part of the local economy.

Culture and community. The Cereal Festival features the World's Longest Breakfast Table, where volunteers pour free bowls of Kellogg's and Post cereal down Michigan Avenue with milk provided by Prairie Farms Dairy; the event first entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1979. The Battle Creek Field of Flight is an annual air show and hot-air balloon festival. The International Festival of Lights is a longstanding winter celebration. The Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra is Michigan's longest-running symphony orchestra, and the Brass Band of Battle Creek (established 1989) draws sold-out concerts. Sports include the Battle Creek Battle Jacks collegiate summer baseball team in the Northwoods League; earlier the Michigan Battle Cats won the 2000 Midwest League title, and actor Tyler Hoechlin once played for the Battle Creek Bombers.

What makes Battle Creek distinct. The World's Longest Breakfast Table set tables end-to-end down Michigan Avenue and earned a Guinness World Record in 1979. The flaked cereal that made the city famous was invented by accident during attempts to make a granola-like health food. As of 2013 Battle Creek had the fifth-largest Japanese national population of any Michigan community (358 residents) and has run a student exchange with Takasaki, Japan since 1981. McCamly Place, an indoor festival marketplace opened in 1986, was fully demolished in 2022 after the concept proved unsustainable for a smaller city.

Battle Creek Landmarks and Local Life

• The former Battle Creek Sanitarium building - now the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center
• Binder Park Zoo.
• Leila Arboretum.
• Kingman Museum and Planetarium.
• Fort Custer Recreation Area.
• Oak Hill Cemetery - burial place of Sojourner Truth