Branch, Branch County, Michigan

Branch was the first seat of Branch County, Michigan, so designated in 1831.{{cite book |last= Romig |first= Walter |year= 1986 |title= Michigan Place Names |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-FPXEGRo-YC |location= Detroit |publisher= Wayne State University Press |isbn= 978-0-8143-1838-6 |via= Google Books |page= 74}} The settlement and county derive their name from John Branch, then Secretary of the US Navy.{{cite web|url= http://www.coldwater.org/CommunityResources/History_Brief.html|title= A Brief History of Coldwater|publisher= City of Coldwater|access-date= June 17, 2014|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140621122812/http://www.coldwater.org/CommunityResources/History_Brief.html|archive-date= June 21, 2014}}>

History

The village of Mason was initially selected to be the first seat of Branch County at inauguration, however due to a procedural error the decision was declared void and the as-then unbuilt village of Branch was selected as the first seat.{{cite web |last1=Macdonald |first1=David |url=https://branchcountyhistoricalsociety.org/2019/03/28/branch-county-courthouse-site/| title=Branch County & Branch County Courthouse Site |publisher=Branch County Historical Society |access-date=22 June 2023 |date=28 March 2019}} A post office operated from 1835 to 1864. The seat was moved to Coldwater in 1842 and the village gradually died out.

References

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Category:Populated places established in 1831

Category:Former populated places in Michigan

Category:Former populated places in Branch County, Michigan