Just the Facts
St. Joseph River
The River begins near Hillsdale, Michigan and flows south to enter Indiana north of Bristol, and continues on through Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, leaving Indiana northwest of South Bend to return to Michigan, according to the St. Joseph River Watershed site.
Bonneyville Mill, 3 miles east outside of Bristol is located on the Little Elkhart River, which is a tributary of the St. Joseph River.
Other Facts
Old timers recall cutting ice and storing it for milder weather, and remember when mussels and shellfish in the River were collected and sold for button making.
A number of boating activities take place in Bristol, including the annual September Bridge to Bridge Kayak and Canoe races sponsored by Fluid Fun. In addition, the route down the River from Mottville to Bristol is one that many paddlers like to take on a summer afternoon.
Ice Harvesting on the St. Joe River
In about 1900, this building, reported to have been located on the corner of State Road 15 North and SR 120, where the Speedway station is today, was used to store ice during the winter months.
Cut from the frozen St. Joseph River, the chunks of ice were brought up on sleds to the icehouse to be stored in until needed by local merchants and residents. The ice was cut in the dead of winter, with special saws and stored insulated with straw, sawdust or both. It would stay frozen until the following winter, if the supply lasted that long, and then the icemen would go back in the winter and start filling the icehouse again.
