Editing West Branch, Michigan (section)

== History ==
In 1875, a northerly extension of the [[Michigan Central Railroad]] was completed through present-day West Branch.<ref>{{Cite web |title=michiganrailroads.com - Evolution Map - Lower - 1873 |url=https://www.michiganrailroads.com/evolution-of-michigan-railroads/507-evolution-lower-peninsula/176-evolution-1870s/4366-evolution-map-lower-1873 |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=www.michiganrailroads.com}}</ref> The community, which originated as a station on the railroad, was named for its location near the west branch of the [[Rifle River]], which flows southeasterly to [[Saginaw Bay]], a bay of [[Lake Huron]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Romig |first=Walter |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=0-8143-1838-X |location=[[Detroit]] |pages=591}}</ref>

Ogemaw County was organized by an act of [[Michigan Legislature|state legislature]] in 1873, with both West Branch and nearby [[Ogemaw Springs, Michigan|Ogemaw Springs]] vying to become [[county seat]]. West Branch officially became the county seat in 1876. West Branch was incorporated as a [[Village (United States)|village]] in 1885, and as a city in 1905.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ogemaw County Michigan Genealogy & History |url=https://genealogytrails.com/mich/ogemaw/history.html |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref>