Branch

Formed October 29, 1829 (19^th county)

Branch County (44,860), Coldwater (13,829)

The Modern concrete facility, on Division Street between Chicago and Pearl avenues, was built in 1976.  Chicago Avenue is United States Highway 12 in the town.  Haughey, Black, and Associates provided the designs.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds and the District Court Building is next door.  An 1887 courthouse was also in Coldwater.  Masonville (1829), Branch (1831), and Coldwater (1842) have all been the county seat.  The county was organized on October 29, 1829 from Native American Territory as the 19^th county.  The county is named for United States Secretary of the Navy, John Branch.  The county seat is reportedly named for local settlers being teetotalers. 

Branch County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Two Circuit Court Judges, Two District Court Judges, Two Probate Court Judges and court clerk serve Branch County (judicial.) The county is on the southern border with Indiana.  The county center is 2.8 miles West-Southwest of Coldwater.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Calhoun and Hillsdale counties and Indiana and Saint Joseph and Kalamazoo counties. 

The area of the county is 519 square miles.  It is 81 out of 83 in the state.  It ranks 38 out of 83 in population in the state.  It has a density of 86.4 persons per square mile making it 32 out of 83 in the state.  Branch County has 43.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 69 travels north to south in the county from Calhoun County to Indiana.  United States Highway 12 crosses east to west from Hillsdale County to Saint Joseph County.  The county is a rectangle.  Coldwater is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Coldwater is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 30.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Coldwater Micropolitan Statistical Area.