Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Berrien County, Michigan.

Official Website

History

As one of the Cabinet counties, Berrien County was named for John M. Berrien of Georgia, US Attorney General (1829–1831) under US President Andrew Jackson. The county was founded in 1829, and was organized in 1831, before Michigan was accepted into the Union as a state.

When Michigan Territory was established in 1805, the area of present Berrien County was included in the boundary of Wayne County.

About 1780, New Jersey resident William Burnett established a trading post at the mouth of the St. Joseph River (present-day site of St. Joseph) to serve indigenous peoples and French Canadian residents. Also during that time, Joseph Bertrand established a trading post on the river, in present–day Niles Charter Township. In December 1822, missionary Isaac McCoy moved his family and 18 Indian students from Indiana to the St. Joseph River near present-day Niles, Michigan, to open a religious mission (the Carey Mission) to the Potawatomi Indians,160 km from the nearest White settlement.

In 1827 St. Joseph Township was organized as part of Wayne County, It included all lands acquired from the Native Americans by the 1821 Treaty of Chicago.

The boundary of Berrien County was delineated by the Michigan Territory Legislature on October 29, 1829 with its present limits. For purposes of revenue, taxation and judicial matters, it was attached to Cass County, and was designated as Niles Township. This assignation was terminated in 1831 when Berrien County's government was organized and initiated.

In recent times, Berrien County, especially the coastal cities of New Buffalo and Lakeside, has received notice as a vacation destination for Chicagoland residents and other Midwesterners. It has earned multiple nicknames in this capacity, including "Harbor Country" and "the Hamptons of the Midwest", with the latter recognized by the Wall Street Journal.

Adjacent Counties

• Van Buren County
• Cass County
• St. Joseph County, Indiana
• LaPorte County, Indiana
• Porter County, Indiana
• Cook County, Illinois
• Lake County, Illinois

Cities & Villages

• Baroda
• Benton Harbor
• Berrien Springs
• Bridgman
• Buchanan
• Coloma
• Eau Claire
• Galien
• Grand Beach
• Michiana
• New Buffalo
• Niles
• St. Joseph (County Seat)
• Shoreham
• Stevensville
• Three Oaks
• Watervliet

Townships & Other Communities

Bainbridge | Benton | Benton Heights | Berrien Center | Bertrand | Bethany Beach | Birchwood | Chikaming | Dayton | Fair Plain | Glendora | Hagar | Harbert | Hazelhurst | Hinchman | Lake | Lake Michigan Beach | Lakeside | Lincoln | Millburg | New Troy | Oronoko | Paw Paw Lake | Pipestone | Riverside | Royalton | Sawyer | Scottdale | Shorewood | Shorewood Hills | Sodus | Tower Hill Shorelands | Tower Hills | Union Pier | Weesaw

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians has a reservation occupying a portion of the southeastern corner of Berrien County. The Berrien County reservation surrounds the entire portion of the city of Niles that lies within the county, as well as portions of Bertrand Township and Niles Charter Township along the St. Joseph River.

Links

Wikipedia

National Register of Historic Places

Berrien County Genealogical Society

Genealogy Trails

Genealogy Village

Michigan Family History Network

MI Gen Web