Bertrand Charter Township is a charter township of Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 2,611.

Bertrand Charter Township was established in 1836, and named for Joseph Bertrand, a pioneer citizen.

Communities

Dayton is an unincorporated community in the western part of township at . It is on Dayton Lake off U.S. Highway 12 about midway between Niles and Three Oaks, just a few miles north of the Indiana state border. The settlement was founded in 1830 by Benjamin Redding, and a post office named "Redding's Mills" opened on June 17, 1850. It was designated on an 1839 map of Michigan as "Terré Coupe", and when the Michigan Central Railroad was built through the area in 1848, the depot was named Terre Coupe (and also spelled Terra Coupée). The name of the depot was changed to Dayton after the post office was renamed "Dayton" on April 11, 1851, after Dayton, Ohio, where many early settlers had come from. The post office was discontinued on September 22, 1967.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.71%, is water.

The township is in the southeast portion of the county, with Galien Township to the west, Weesaw Township to the northwest, and Buchanan Township with the village of Buchanan to the north on the west side of the township. The city of Niles lies on the northeast corner of the township, while irregularly-shaped Niles Township is to the north on the east side of the township and also to the east of the township. St. Joseph County, Indiana, lies to the south, with Olive Township to the southwest, Warren Township due south, and German Township with the city of South Bend to the south on the east side of the township.

U.S. Route 31 crosses the township north and south, while US 12 crosses it east and west.

Along with a corner of Galien Township, the southern part of the township is the only part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is part of the drainage of the Mississippi River, and with the Michigan shore of Lac Vieux Desert in the Upper Peninsula, is one of two such areas in the state.

Demographics

As of the census