By: David McDonald, BCHS President The Branch District Library’s Heritage Room houses many archive folders with many more interesting, and true stories of people and times long past, but not forgotten. While doing some local history research recently I came across an interesting, and unusual story. It was about a lady who lived in Branch Read More
By: Dave McDonald, BCHS – President This time we will do the genealogy of a house. Yes a house, and one with a very interesting service history in our community. Do you recognize it from the 1923 artist drawing shown here? The building at 165 W. Chicago Street, Coldwater, recently having served as a training Read More
By: Dave McDonald, BCHS – President Last time we looked at the history of a home built by Audrain Abbott in the mid-1850s. He picked the location for the house on his tract of land so they could view the Sauk Trail out their parlor window. Call it intuition on Audrain’s part, but the Sauk Read More
By: Dave McDonald, BCHS – President Yes, Branch County claims two ghost towns in its history. In both cases even the buildings have become no more than ghosts themselves. Even their cemeteries are nearly beyond locating. The two villages were named Mason and Branch. The photo shown gives you a view of the very last Read More
By: Dave McDonald, BCHS – President There’s lots of buzzing and planning of activities in the air for the City of Coldwater. The county seat of Branch is officially 150 years old in 2011. The sesquicentennial events are expected to be plentiful and entertaining during the months ahead. Like our many historic buildings and Victorian Read More
By: Dave McDonald, BCHS – President In a past article appearing on the front page of our local newspaper we read of the ongoing Crippen family struggle to vindicate Hawley Harvey Crippen of the murder and mutilation of his 2nd wife, Belle Elmore. A notorious murder mystery in the UK approaching the caliber of “Jack Read More
By: Dave McDonald, BCHS – President Early villages such as Coldwater and Quincy were established along an old Indian passageway referred to as the Sauk Trail, and later by settlers as the Chicago Road. Transportation in early Branch County came in the form of stage coaches. In 1837 the new state of Michigan launched improvement Read More
Located along the U.S. 12 Heritage Route (Sauk Trail). The city reflects a unique balance of past and present, featuring many fine old turn-of-the-twentieth century homes. The village, and later, city of Coldwater enjoyed a booming economy filled with rapid retail development and industry of many types. Coldwater was originally platted by two of the Read More
David Mcdonald Historic Sites 0
31 Division Street – Coldwater This Historic Site marker is located next to the brick clock tower located at the corner of E. Pearl & Division Streets. Its location is near the north edge of the ground on which the old Branch County Jail once sat. Two previous courthouses have sit on the property that Read More
David Mcdonald Historic Sites 0
Located on Chicago Road west of Bronson in highway park, the Historic Marker text: One of the great routes for the pioneers coming west was the Chicago Road. The survey of the road began at Detroit in 1825 and followed closely the Sauk Trail which Indians had marked and traveled for centuries before the coming Read More
