 It was a perfect location for industry, with its rolling land of timber and the flowing waters of the Paw Paw River emptying into Lake Michigan at the harbor of St. Joseph.Prior to the formation of Coloma Township in 1917, prosperous sawmills encouraged the formation of the early village of Shingle Diggings, which was followed by the birth of the cities of Coloma and Watervliet.As timber was cleared, and the early village of Waterford (later called Watervliet) was established, farming of the newly cleared land became a lucrative business in Watervliet Township.