Branch County, Michigan

Founding: 1833 (declared in 1829)
Parent county: Unorganized territory

Namesake: John Branch (1782–1863), North Carolina politician
Seats: Branch (1833–1842); Coldwater (1842–)

Land area: 506 square miles

Population (2010): 45,248

Population (historic): 5,715 (1840); 27,941 (1880); 27,811 (1900); 23,950 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1830–1870; 1940–1970; 1990s

Subdivisions: Two cities; three villages; 16 townships

National Register listings: 13

Income (per capita): $18,289

Income (median household): $41,855
Business establishments: 808 (56 people per business)
Pre-1939 residences (estimated): 4,545 (22%)
Vacant houses: 4,819 (23.3%)
Sources of settlement: New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, England, Germany, and Poland

Coldwater

Namesake: The Coldwater River

Founding: 1830 (platting); 1833 (post office); 1837 (incorporation)

Population (2010): 10,945

Population (historic): 4,381 (1870); 6,216 (1900); 6,735 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1830–1860; 1880–1900; 1920s; 1940s; 1990s
Typology: Grid (irregular)

Courthouse Prehistory

- Between 1833 and 1837, the county government met in a Branch schoolhouse.

First Courthouse

Location: Branch

Construction: 1837

Years of service: 1837–1842

Typology: Unknown; log; two-story

Style: None

Builder: Unknown

Cost: Unknown

Status: Razed

Features of note: Appearance unknown. The structure measured 30' by 30'.

Second Courthouse

Illustration from the Coldwater, Michigan Pictorial City Directory and Year Book (1919).

Location: East Chicago Street (Coldwater)

Construction: 1848

Years of service: 1848–1887

Typology: Front-gabled (temple-form); brick; two-story

Style: Greek Revival

Builder: G.W. Davis

Cost: $5,000 ($143,911 in 2017 dollars)

Status: Razed

Features of note: Square louvered cupola; pedimented portico; fluted Doric columns; simple entablature; rectangular lintels and sills; six-over-six windows; doorway with entablature.

Third Courthouse

Location: Division Street (Coldwater)

Construction: 1887

Years of service: 1887–1972

Typology: Axial (irregular); brick; two-and-a-half-story (with elevated basement)

Style: Romanesque

Architect: Marcellus Parker

Cost: $50,000 ($1,384,448 in 2017 dollars)

Status: Razed (burned in 1972)

Features of note: Lofty corner tower with octagonal cupola; paneled frieze board; cornice brackets; parapeted gable; varied window treatments (rectangular, lancet-arched, round-arched, and segmental-arched); paired and tripled windows; string courses; multiplicity of chimneys; arcaded porch supported by massive columns.

For photos, see this page.

Fourth Courthouse

Location: 31 Division Street (Coldwater)

Construction: 1972–1976

Years of service: 1976–

Typology: Monumental (rectangular); stone; three-story

Style: Modern

Architect: Haughey, Black, and Associates

Cost: $1,900,000 ($8,317,396 in 2017 dollars)

Status: Extant; functional

Features of note: None whatsoever. Boo! Hiss!

Sources: Wikipedia; Courthouse History; City of Coldwater website; History of Branch County, Michigan (Everts and Abbott, 1879).