Branch County is located on the near southwestern boundary of the lower
peninsula, bordered by Indiana. It was organized in 1831 shortly after
settlers arrived in the Bronson area in 1828. It was named after John Branch,
then Secretary of the Navy under President Andrew Jackson. The original
county seat was in a town called Branch, near Gilead Lake in the southern
part of the county. It began in 1830 with the construction of the Black
Hawk Sawmill, built by a Dr. Hill and named for a local Indian chief. This
town did not survive because lots were too high-priced. The county seat was
relocated in Coldwater, presently the county’s largest city.
