Biohazard Cleanup Near Constantine Historic District Constantine, MI

Constantine is a village in St. Joseph County in far southern Michigan, located within Constantine Township on U.S. Highway 131 (its Main Street), about six miles north of the Indiana Toll Road.

The village stands where the Fawn River meets the St. Joseph River, which passes through Constantine on its way west to Lake Michigan.

Constantine was platted in 1831, a year after the county's first water-powered gristmill was built here in 1830.

The settlement was first named Meeks Mill, after the builder of that first grain mill; when classical names came into vogue, it was renamed for the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.

Constantine is known as the Seed Corn Capital of the World, as seed producers Monsanto and Pioneer both have their biggest facilities in and around the village.

John S. Barry, who served as Michigan's fourth and eighth governor, resided in Constantine; the Governor John S. Barry House has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972.

Constantine was the birthplace of Harry Hill Bandholtz, a U.S. brigadier general in World War I who headed the U.S. Military Mission to Hungary.

Joseph R. Williams, the first president of Michigan Agricultural College — later Michigan State University — was a Constantine resident and served as Michigan's lieutenant governor.

Constantine's Main Street is a historic center of richly detailed, two-story commercial buildings from the late 19th century.

The village had 1,947 residents in the 2020 census, living in 744 households.