Heath Township, Michigan | |
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Township | |
Location within the state of Michigan | |
Coordinates: 42°38′58″N 85°58′0″W / 42.64944°N 85.96667°WCoordinates: 42°38′58″N 85°58′0″W / 42.64944°N 85.96667°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Michigan |
County | Allegan |
Area | |
• Total | 35.9 sq mi (93.0 km2) |
• Land | 35.4 sq mi (91.6 km2) |
• Water | 0.5 sq mi (1.4 km2) |
Elevation | 686 ft (209 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 3,317 |
• Density | 94/sq mi (36.2/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
FIPS code | 26-37460 |
GNIS feature ID | 1626459 |
Website | www |
Heath Township is a civil township of Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 3,317.
Dunningville is a historic locale in the southern part of the township at 42°36′46″N 85°56′55″W / 42.61278°N 85.94861°W. Andrew Whistler built a sawmill here in 1855 that was operated by persons named Dunning and Hopkins. A station on the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad (later part of the Pere Marquette Railway) was named "Dunning", but the post office used the name Dunningville.
Gilchrist was a station on the Michigan Lake Shore Railroad located between Dunningville and Hamilton in 1873 and on successor railways.
Hamilton is an unincorporated community in the northeast corner of the township, where M-40 crosses the Rabbit River at 42°40′38″N 86°00′22″W / 42.67722°N 86.00611°W. The first white settler was Charles Butler, who purchased the entirety of section 6 in 1835. It was at first known as Rabbit River, with a post office operating from May 1851 to September 1852. Aaron Willards platted a village named Rabbit River in 1862, with a second post office opening in July 1864. The post office was renamed "Hamilton" in May 1870. The ZIP code is 49419 serves much of the township and surrounding areas.