Branch County, Michigan

Branch County Education, Geography, and History

Branch County is a county in the state of Michigan. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 45,248. The county seat is Coldwater. As one of the "cabinet counties" it was named for the US Secretary of the Navy John Branch under President Andrew Jackson. The county was founded in 1829 and organized in 1833.

Branch County comprises the Coldwater, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Branch County Name

Branch County, named for John Branch, US Secretary of the Navy, and is a Cabinet county.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Branch County History

Branch County, named for John Branch, US Secretary of the Navy, and is a Cabinet county.

Set Off: 1829

Organized: 1833

Branch County was a New England settlement. The original founders of Coldwater consisted entirely of settlers from New England. These people were "Yankees", that is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s and carried their culture with them. During the early 1800s, these settlers were part of a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was then the wilds of the Northwest Territory. Many traveled through New York State via the Erie Canal; the threat of Native Americans had been reduced by the end of the Black Hawk War. When they arrived in what is now Branch County, they found virgin forest and wild prairie.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 520 square miles (1,300 km²), of which 506 square miles (1,310 km²) is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) (2.6%) is water. It is the third-smallest county in Michigan by total area.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Calhoun County (north)
• Hillsdale County (east)
• St. Joseph County (west)
• Steuben County, Indiana (south)
• LaGrange County, Indiana (southwest)
  

Education

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