The name "Kikanamaso" was also recorded by Father Pierre Potier, a Jesuit missionary for the Huron-Wendats at the Assumption mission (south shore of Detroit), while en route to Fort Saint Joseph during the fall of 1760.

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, passed just southeast of the present city of Kalamazoo in late March 1680.

[15] The 1821 Treaty of Chicago ceded the territory south of the Grand River to the United States federal government, but the area around present-day Kalamazoo was reserved as the village of Potawatomi Chief Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish.

[17] He platted the town in 1831 and named it the village of Bronson—not to be confused with the much smaller Bronson, Michigan, about fifty miles (80 km) to the south-southeast of Kalamazoo.

The fertile farmlands attracted prosperous Yankee farmers who settled the surrounding area, and sent their sons to Kalamazoo to become businessmen, professionals, and entrepreneurs who started numerous factories.

[20] On August 27, 1856, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Kalamazoo during a campaign rally for John C. Fremont, the first Republican presidential candidate.

The text of the speech was found by Lincoln historian Thomas I. Starr in a copy of the Detroit Daily Advertiser and published in a booklet.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Kalamazoo has a total area of 25.11 square miles (65.03 km2), of which 0.43 sq mi (1.11 km2) is covered by water.

[32] Kalamazoo's suburban population is located primarily to the south, in the city of Portage, and to the west in Oshtemo and Texas townships.

Kleinstuck Marsh is south of Maple Street, between Oakland Drive and Westnedge Avenue, Kalamazoo's major north–south artery.

The area is also a hotbed for home brewing and partners with neighboring Grand Rapids to form what is widely considered one of America's more important regions in American craft beer explosion.

[65] Fabri-Kal, a supplier of food service and other containers produced from thermoform plastic or plant-based materials (Greenware product line), has operated corporate headquarters in Kalamazoo since the 1960s.

[66] In recent years, the company's product lines have introduced sustainable and plant-based materials,[67][68] and innovations to reduce the plastic content of consumer and other packaging.

[69] Parker Hannifin Aerospace's Hydraulic Systems Division (HSD) is located at 2220 Palmer Ave in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The bulk of the former Upjohn Company facilities in the area exist in Portage, under Pfizer or Zoetis operation; others, located in downtown Kalamazoo, have been re-purposed as the campus of the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D.

School of Medicine (WMed) is a collaboration involving Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo's two teaching hospitals, Ascension Borgess and Bronson Methodist.

The global Research and Development organization of Zoetis, the world's largest producer of medicine and vaccinations for pets and livestock, is headquartered in downtown Kalamazoo.

[81] It was founded by John Fetzer, a broadcasting magnate and former owner of the Detroit Tigers and WKZO radio and television in Kalamazoo.

In addition to an animated film competition with $15,000 in prizes awarded, the festival features events for students, artists, educators, filmmakers and the general public.

The Gibson Guitar Corporation, founded in Kalamazoo in 1902, spurred local musicians to play a wide variety of styles, from classical and folk to modern rock (the company relocated to Nashville in 1984).

Kalamazoo is also host to the Kalamashoegazer music festival, held for the last 13 years and a showcase for both local and national shoegaze and dream pop bands.

Kalamazoo is the hometown of former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, former NFL wide receiver Greg Jennings, former NFL running back T. J. Duckett, the world's number one prize money winning pro bass fisherman Kevin VanDam, former MLB pitcher Scott Olsen, former NHL player Adam Hall and former Chicago White Sox first baseman Mike Squires.

[119] Kalamazoo was also the hometown of longtime Detroit Tigers owner John Fetzer, who owned the American League team from 1961 through 1984, when he sold the franchise to Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan.

The event has featured such players as Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, James Blake and Andy Roddick, before they turned professional.

The station was originally owned and operated by famous broadcasting pioneer (and former Detroit Tigers owner) John Fetzer, as "WKZO-TV".

Most channels that serve the entire market are receivable in Kalamazoo, including WWMT, WOOD-TV (NBC), WXMI (Fox), WZPX (Ion) and WLLA (religious).

WOTV in Battle Creek broadcasts ABC and CW programming for the southern part of the market, including Kalamazoo.

Charter offers all West Michigan channels on its system to Kalamazoo subscribers, including WZZM, the ABC affiliate for Grand Rapids and the northern part of the market.

Some parts of Old US 12 outside of town, especially in Van Buren and Berrien counties to the west, are still called Red Arrow Highway.

[141] The city was also mentioned in the opera Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass and in the chorus of the song "Gotta Get Away" by The Black Keys, from their album Turn Blue ("I went from San Berdoo to Kalamazoo/Just to get away from you...").