Contact:

Leo J. Goodsell, Executive Director
Berrien County Historical Association
P.O. Box 261
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
Tele: (269) 471-1202

Berrien County Historical Association Annual Meeting April 27, 2004

BERRIEN SPRINGS: The Berrien County Historical Association announces its annual meeting to be held at the Youth Memorial Building of the Berrien County Youth Fairgrounds in Berrien Springs on April 27, 2004 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The association will have a catered buffet dinner to be followed by a brief business meeting and a program on "Gangsters of Berrien County." The dinner and program fee is $20.00 per person and guests. Call the BCHA at (269) 471-1202 to reserve your seats. The public is invited to attend.

This year's speaker is Robert Myers, BCHA curator and author of numerous books and articles on Berrien County history. Myers will present a program on Berrien County and the Gangster Era of the 1920s. By special arrangement with the Berrien County Sheriff's Department, a Thompson submachine gun used in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre will be on exhibit.

Prohibition fostered a huge trade in illegal liquor, from which various gangs derived enormous profits. The Purple Gang ruled Detroit, while the gangs of Al Capone and George "Bugs" Moran held Chicago. The gangs divided Michigan into areas of control, with Berrien County falling into the Chicago sphere.

The Capone and Moran Gangs fought for control of Chicago. On February 14, 1929, Capone's men murdered six of Moran's men, plus one of Moran's friends, in a Clark Street warehouse in Chicago. The killings became famous as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Although Capone had an airtight alibi, everyone assumed that he had ordered the killings.

Fred Burke, who had led Capone's men in the murders, moved into a small house in Stevensville. His murder of a St. Joseph policeman in December 1929 led to the recovery of the Massacre weapons and, eventually, to Burke's arrest and conviction.

Myers' program will focus on the Capone gang and their activities in Berrien County. In particular, he will report on several of the gangster homes that are still present in the area.

The Berrien County Historical Association is headquartered at the 1839 Courthouse Complex, 313 N. Cass Street (old US 31), Berrien Springs, Michigan. It is the site of the historic county seat and comprises the 1839 Courthouse, 1870s Sheriff's Residence, 1830 Murdock Log House, Bennett Forge, and 1870 Jail Plaza.