Editing Berrien County, Michigan (section)

==History==
As one of the [[Cabinet counties]], Berrien County was named for [[John M. Berrien]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[United States Attorney General|US Attorney General]] (1829–1831) under [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Andrew Jackson]].<ref name=Clarke>{{cite web|url=http://clarke.cmich.edu/resource_tab/bibliographies_of_clarke_library_material/michigan_local_history/county_material/berrien.html|publisher=[[Clarke Historical Library]], [[Central Michigan University]]|title=Bibliography on Berrien County|access-date=January 19, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313091248/http://clarke.cmich.edu/resource_tab/bibliographies_of_clarke_library_material/michigan_local_history/county_material/berrien.html|archive-date=March 13, 2012}}</ref> The county was founded in 1829, and was organized in 1831, before Michigan was accepted into the Union as a state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swmidirectory.org/History_of_Berrien_County.html|title=The History of Berrien County, Michigan|publisher=Southwest Michigan Business & Tourism Directory|access-date=October 2, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084611/http://www.swmidirectory.org/History_of_Berrien_County.html|archive-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref>

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

About 1780, New Jersey resident William Burnett established a trading post at the mouth of the [[St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)|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, Michigan|Niles Charter Township]].<ref>Coolidge, Orville W. (1906). [https://books.google.com/books?id=3G0Qo9lf4nsC ''A Twentieth Century History of Berrien County Michigan''], pp. 19-20. The Lewis Publishing Company.</ref> 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&nbsp;km from the nearest White settlement.<ref>”Rev. Isaac McCoy” {{cite web|url=http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/mccoy.isaac.1st.indn.miss.html|title=Rev. Isaac McCoy - First Baptist Missionary to the Indians, by Carl C. Rister|access-date=February 27, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120181226/http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/mccoy.isaac.1st.indn.miss.html|archive-date=November 20, 2010}}, accessed February 19, 2011</ref>

In 1827 St. Joseph Township was organized as part of Wayne County, It included all lands acquired from the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|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, Michigan|Cass County]], and was designated as Niles Township. This assignation was terminated in 1831 when Berrien County's government was organized and initiated.

Berrien County began with three townships:
* [[Berrien Charter Township, Michigan|Berrien Township]] – consisted of present-day townships of Berrien, [[Oronoko Charter Township, Michigan|Oronoko]], [[Baroda Township, Michigan|Baroda]] and [[Lake Charter Township, Michigan|Lake]] plus a two-mile strip north of that territory
* [[St. Joseph Charter Township, Michigan|St. Joseph Township]] – consisted of the area north of Berrien Township
* [[Niles Township, Michigan|Niles Township]] – consisted of the area south of Berrien Township.<ref>Coolidge (1906), p. 24.</ref>

In recent times, Berrien County, especially the coastal cities of [[New Buffalo, Michigan|New Buffalo]] and [[Lakeside, Berrien County, Michigan|Lakeside]], has received notice as a vacation destination for [[Chicago area]] 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=De Zutter |first1=Hank |last2=Little De Zutter |first2=Pamela |title=Invasion of the FIPs: boom time in southwestern Michigan |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/invasion-of-the-fips-boom-time-in-southwestern-michigan/Content?oid=872836 |website=Chicago Reader |access-date=September 21, 2019 |language=en |date=October 6, 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Al |title=Report: The Wall Street Journal calls the Southwest Michigan shoreline the Hamptons of the Midwest |url=https://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/2013/04/wall_street_journal_report_cal.html |access-date=September 21, 2019 |website=mlive |language=en |date=April 6, 2013}}</ref>