Historic Dates of Coldwater

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Sauk Trail-Detroit to Chicago
Potawatomi Indians in this area
1813	Chief Tecumseh Died
1821	Chief Topinabee Sold Area
1822	First Trading Post: Joe Godfrey
1828	Settler Bronson established home
1829	Area named for John Branch, Secretary of Navy, Jackson's Administration
1830	First log house built on present site of Masonic Temple by Hugh Campbell
1831	County seat established at Branch
1832	Village laid our; named "Lyons"
1836	Methodist Episcopal Church established First building.
1865	Second building
	Population: 50 Whites
	First School; Cynthia Gloyd, teacher-nine pupils enrolled.
1833	Branch County organized
	Village name changed to Coldwater
1834	Baptist Church established
	Brick edifice built
	"Red School House" built at corner of Pearl & Hudson St.
1835	"Masonville" platted; east side of Coldwater River
1837	Coldwater incorporated as a village; population 140
	Malaria scourge; Clay Street milldam thought to be cause
	First newspaper, The Observer
	Presbyterian Church organized
1840	County seat moved to Coldwater
1841	Coldwater Sentinel founded by Albert Chandler
1847	First "pig iron" manufactured
1848	First courthouse built
	Population of County; 9,070
	Morse Street Cemetery (1835-1857)
	St. Marks Episcopal Church established
1849	Telegraph lines reached here
	Roman Catholic Church instituted
	First railroad arrive
1851	379 houses in village
	Fire destroyed 8 Stores
	Green Mountain Black Hawk Stallion purchased by A.C. Fiske
1856	First fire company organized; Clinton B. Flank, foreman
	"Excelsior hand pump purchased
1860	Barrel staved, wheelbarrows, sleds, grain mills major businesses to about 1890
1861	Civil War declared April 12,  Fort Sumpter attacked;
	Abraham Lincoln, President
	Coldwater Light Artillery (Loomis Battery)
	Coldwater Incorporated as City
	St. Paul's Lutheran Church organized
1862	Episcopal Church building completed
1865	Coldwater National Bank opened
	S.M. Siely made $1 Million in oil speculations
1870	County population 27,227
	Cigar Makers Union organized
	Lewis Art Gallery opened (to 1895)
1874	State Public School opened
1880	First bicycle brought to Coldwater
1881	Armory and other fires
1882	Tibbits Opera House built (September  21)
	The Courier established (Formerly The Republican-1866)
1886	E.R. Clarke Library dedicated
1887	Cyrus C. Luce of Gilead became Governor
	It was a 2-Day trip to the Capitol
	$1,000 yearly salary for Governor
1888	Horse breeding and horse auctions at peak
	Electric Street Lighting installed by private company
1890	Central School burned
	Water Works system built
1891	City buys light company
1892	Free mail delivery started
1893	Chicago World Fair
	4 Cement companies in area
1895	Coldwater Daily Reporter started
1898	First Street Paving
1900	County Population 27,811
1905	Present City Charter became law
1910	Post Office Built
	82 days of sleighing this year
1912	Park & Recreation Board established
1913	New electric lights in business district turned on
1917	Cornerstone laid for new armory
	Cost of building $45,000
	Company A. mustered: WWI
1920	Homer Foundry started
	Destructive Cyclone
1927	Coldwater Brass Company started
1929	Shoe Company bought by M.T. Shaw
1934	Quality Spring Company started
1946	Federal-Mogul Service builds
1949	W.T.V.B. Radio programming initiated
1951	Gamble-Skogmo warehouse built
	New Anderson Dairy
1954	Eaton Manufacturing opens (makes pressed metal parts)
1957	Putnam Pattern Shop started, Jay Street
1958	Climax Molybdenum of Michigan built
	New Detention Headquarters opened
1959	Methodist and Presbyterian Churches expand
1960	C.H. Rumpf truck dock built, Jay Street
	New Lutheran Church building dedicated
	Coldwater votes expansion of Power Plant
1961	Centennial celebrated. Coldwater-100th birthday

Compiled by Charles N. Hill, Coldwater Chamber of Commerce, from materials of Brown-Facklam; Conover; Luedders Directory; "Mich. in 4 Centuries", Blad; etc.