Mishawaka is a principal city of the South Bend-Mishawaka, Indiana — Michigan, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Mishawaka's recorded history began with the discovery of bog iron deposits at the beginning of the 1830s.

In the late 19th century, Mishawaka became known as the "Peppermint Capital of the World", as its rich black loam produced great quantities of mint.

[11][12] One theory for the word Mishawaka proposes that it derives from the name of a Potawatomi village at the junction of the Elkhart and St. Joseph rivers, where there were many dead trees.

[13] The most probable origin of the word comes from the city's government website, where in a history of Mishawaka paper written by local historian Peter DeKever states, "The Potawatomi had numerous villages in the region, including one on the south bank of the St. Joseph River located in the area bounded today by Lincolnway West and North Main and West Streets.

The Potawatomi were drawn to this location by the ease of transport the river provided, a ford near a natural rapids, abundant fish and game, and access to timber.

Their term for the area, M’Shehwahkeek, translates as swift flowing water or heavy timbered rapids."

Many of the newer residential subdivisions that have been developed within the city in recent years have adopted design guidelines to produce the "hometown" neighborhood feel and encourage community spirit.

In 1968, the city opened an outdoor Olympic-size swimming pool and an adjacent ice skating rink at Merrifield Park.

[22] On the south side, Mishawaka's George Wilson Park is home to the city's most popular winter toboggan spot,[23] as well as an 18-hole frisbee golf course.

The city also hosted the nation's oldest and largest wiffleball tournament, the World Wiffle Ball Championship,[25] from 1980 to 2012 and again in 2020.

The Interurban Trolley's Bittersweet/Mishawaka route stops at Martin's Supermarket, connecting riders to the city of Elkhart and the town of Osceola.

Penn-Harris elementary schools serving sections of Mishawaka include Walt Disney (in the Mishawaka city limits), Elm Road, Meadow's Edge, Prairie Vista, and Elsie Rogers; the middle schools respectively are Schmucker and Grissom.

Stations' programming content contains a wide variety including public radio, classical music, religious, country, and urban contemporary among others.

As of 2013, the South Bend-Mishawaka-Elkhart designated market area was the 95th largest in the United States, with 319,860 (0.3% of the US population) homes.

Mishawaka located stations include WSBT-TV (CBS), WBND-LD (ABC), WCWW-LD (CW) and WMYS-LD (My Network TV).

Stations located in nearby South Bend, IN include WNDU-TV (NBC), WNIT-TV (PBS) and WHME-TV (LeSEA).