Editing Hampton Township, Michigan (section)

==History==
Hampton Township was organized on April 29, 1857, along with [[Williams Township, Michigan|Williams Township]] when Bay County was formed from part of old [[Saginaw County, Michigan|Saginaw County]]. As the two townships gained population, they were partitioned to form other townships which reduced them in area. The settlement of Lower Saginaw eventually separated from the township as [[Bay City, Michigan|Bay City]]. [[Essexville, Michigan|Essexville]] was incorporated as a village within the township in 1883 and was separated from the township as a city in 1934.

In 2016, Consumers Energy closed its Weadock Generating Plant in Hampton. While the company indicated in early 2018 that two coal units at Karn Generating Complex, also in Hampton, will close by 2023. Thus the township expects revenue decreases and look for cost savings. After a public safety committee was formed and a town hall meeting was held, the township's Board of Trustees on October 1, 2018, voted to merge its police and fire departments.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Waterman |first1=Cole |title=Hampton Township approves partial merger of fire, police departments |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2018/10/hampton_township_board_approve.html |access-date=October 4, 2018 |work=Bay City Times |publisher=MLive Media Group |date=October 4, 2018}}</ref>