Hatmaker, Michigan

Bethel Township is a civil township of Branch County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 1,434.CommunitiesThere are no incorporated municipalities within the township. Bethel is an unincorporated community in the southeast corner of the township at. It was first settled in 1830. A post office opened on April 30, 1857, and operated until November 30, 1905. Hatmaker is an unincorporated community near the center of the township at. The settlement was named for the pioneer Hatmaker family, which included Aaron, the cider-maker, and Peter, the grocer and first postmaster. A post office operated from May 23, 1887, until August 31, 1894, and from January 5, 1899, until June 15, 1900. Snow Prairie is a historical locale and former post office near the center of the township. Eleazar Snow from New England settled here in 1830 near the northwest corner of section 16. The place became known as Snow Prairie, although Snow sold his holdings to Moses Olmstead in 1831. Because of its location, a post office named Bethel Centre was established on March 1, 1867. It was renamed Snow Prairie on September 19, 1867, and operated until June 15, 1869. The city of Bronson is adjacent to the west on U.S. Highway 12, which cuts through the northwest corner of the township. The Bronson ZIP code 49028 serves areas in western and southern Bethel Township. The city of Coldwater is to the northeast, and the Coldwater ZIP code 49036 serves areas in northern and eastern Bethel Township.