[5] This area along the St. Joseph River was settled in the colonial period by French pioneers from Quebec and France.

[6] On April 11, 1905, city activists who supported a public library received a matching construction grant from the Carnegie Foundation.

Mendon is the home of two landmarks that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Marantette House was added to the list in 1973; it was built by an ethnic French man from Detroit who had traded with the Potawatomi at their settlement of Nottawaseepe.

The Mendon Riverfest takes place annually on the third weekend in August, from Thursday through Saturday.

Some of the signature activities include the Lip Sync Contest, the Canoe Swamp, Casino Night, and the Toy Boat Race.

On Saturday night a fireworks display is set off over the banks of the St. Joseph River.

Beginning as a Minstrel Show in 1956, The Mendon Kiwanis Showboat, Has become a cultural staple.

In 2017 it raised Nearly $10,000 USD, much of which stayed local and went to funding food programs and scholarships for the kids in the town of Mendon.

On the first full Weekend of every November,† at the Mendon Elementary Auditorium, This Fundraiser takes place.

For the first fifty years of its existence the show's format and theme remained largely unchanged.

It Used to be Based on turn of the century Mississippi River Steam Boat shows and the musical 'Showboat' By Oscar Hammerstein II.

With some of the previous years themes being: †Except in 2006 when the 50th anniversary show was canceled due to construction on the Auditorium, and 2020 when the decision was made to cancel the show due to the COVID-19 Mendon Junior/Senior High School is one of the top academic schools in southwestern Michigan.