The following are excerpts from “Early History of Hamilton & Heath Township”,  A Present of the Past. From Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Ende

The following history of Heath Township has been partially taken from other printed records and also from a newspaper item of the Allegan Journal under date of May 11, 1878. Most of the early incidents in the following history are copied from other records, where as the later history has been verified by some of the residents of Heath Township.

The early residents of Heath Township were attracted here by its very fine forests of white pine.

The survey of Heath Township was made by Calvin Britain and completed in 1831. It was formerly a part of Allegan Township and was made an independent township by the act of the state legislature in March 18, 1851. Although Heath Township at that time also included a portion of township 2 north – range 14 west, it was later set off and the township was confined to the survey consisting of township 3 north -range 14 west.

The first township meeting was held in 1851, in the home of James M. Heath, in whose honor the township was named and who served as supervisor.
Most of the land was purchased from the government during the years of 1833 to 1855 and some purchases were made as late as 1869.

Mr. Simon Howe is credited as being the first settler in Heath Township and appeared in the year 1850. Mr. John Sadler, who was the grandfather of Mr. Fred Mason, purchased land in section 36 at an early date and moved on this land in 1851 with his three sons.
 
Some of our first settlers were immediately attracted by the available power sites, especially on Rabbit River in section 6 and also on Silver and Bear Creeks.

It is reported that purchases of fur were made from the Indians on the Rabbit River in Heath Township as early as 1828.

The early settlers were mostly grouped in the folllowing places: Rabbit River, now the village of Hamilton; Dunningville; Gilchrist Station in section 21; and Sawyerville in section 25 and 26. These places in the so-called early days were lumber towns. There was also a shingle mill in about the middle of section 20 and also in the northern part of section 33.

Gilchrist, in section 21, can now only be located by a good-sized sawdust pile which was the refuse of the saw mills.

Sawyerville has also entirely disappeared. During the lumbering period there was a railroad with wooden rails built from Sawyerville running to Dunningville, and thence to Kellogg & Sawyer landing on the Kalamazoo River in the northeast corner of the southwest quarter of section 32, right near the mouth of Bear Creek. there is no visible evidence today of this old railroad.
 
Dunningville was at one time a platted village and was laid out in 210 lots. The business directory in the year of 1870 listed several dealers as dealing in dry goods, groceries, hardware, glassware, crockery, etc., as well as a depot, post office, hotel, shingle and saw mill, and grain elevator.

The first school in Heath Township was District No. 1, and was located in section 28 near Bear Creek and situated on a road that is now discontinued. This road ran from Dunningville to the Kalamazoo River and it is reported that a bridge crossed the river at the southwest corner of section 29.
 
 Upon information procured from Mr. Frank F. Lemoin, a resident in section 35 of this township, it was learned that when the school in distrct No. 1 burned in section 28 it was rebuilt at Dunningville and situated in the northwest corner of the southeast quarter of section 27.

The next school house in District No.1 was built in the southwest quarter of section 27, south of Bear Creek and west of the “beeline” road and situated across the road from the present Brookside Cemetery. This building was used but a few years before it burned. The district was later divided and a new school was built which is the present school and is situated in the southwest corner of section 27. The other portion of the district organized as school district No. 6 and built their present school on the north line of section 28, adjacent to the “beeline” road.

School district No. 2 has from its organization been on the same place that it is located today, which is the southwest corner of section 25 and is known to us as the Lemoine School.

School District No. 3 was organized in the northwest corner of the southeast quarter of section 12. All visible evidence of this school has entirely disappeared and there are no residents in its immediate vicinity. This district later built a school house at its present location a mile and a half north of its former location and is now a fractional district with the township of Overisel and is located in the northwest corner of section 1.

The school in District No. 4 has always been situated in its present location.

The history of school district No. 5 is covered by another paper including the history of the village of Hamilton.