This area is located in the rolling, fertile hills of South Central Michigan, bordering Indiana and Ohio, according to the boundaries set up under United States settlement.

[4] It was long occupied by the Potowatomi, an Algonquian-speaking people who were part of a long-term alliance, called the Council of Three Fires, with the Ojibwe and Odawa (Ottawa).

A Potowatomi band of about 150 people, led by the chief known as Baw Beese, had a base camp near the large lake in the area.

In 1840, the US forced out Baw Beese and his people, as well as other Potowatomi in neighboring and more distant areas of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, making them remove to Indian Territory in present-day Kansas.

It was the first American college to prohibit in its charter discrimination based on race, religion or sex, and became an early force for the abolition of slavery.

In the late 1800s, Hillsdale became a booming railroad town, served by both freight and passenger trains.

The railroad was used by tourists to enjoy cottages and other facilities on Baw Beese Lake, named after the Potowatomi chief.

At the turn of the 20th century, it began to attract tourists from a wider range of cities, such as Chicago, Toledo, Elkhart and others at what had been known as Archer's Landing.

[6] After World War II, the construction of interstate highways encouraged use of automobiles, and passenger traffic declined on many lines.

Dozens of fine Victorian homes had been built during the prosperity of the 19th century, many of which are still occupied as private residences, contributing to the city's historic fabric.

[1] The St. Joseph River begins in Hillsdale, flowing from Lake Baw Beese.

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters.

In 2022, the Hillsdale Library Board met to discuss whether they should ban books created by and/or for LGBT people.

Hillsdale's current acting mayor, Joshua Paladino, who at the time was a member of the library board and a graduate student at Hillsdale College, proposed removing several books and puzzles from the library's children's section for LGBT content and promotion of political activism.