[4][5] The city of Niles lies mostly within the boundaries of township, but is administratively autonomous.

After the Potowatomi ceded their lands to the federal government with the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, Daniel G. Garnsey obtained the permission of U.S. President Andrew Jackson and the consent of Mrs. Bertrand to locate a village on her land.

Alonzo Bennett platted the village of Bertrand in 1833 and became its first postmaster on June 9, 1834.

In 1844, the Sisters of the Holy Cross founded their first convent in the United States here.

[7] [8] [9] The township is irregularly-shaped, with a southern appendage consisting of a small portion of land lying between the St. Joseph River on the west and Cass County on the east and the Indiana state line to the south.

[10] As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 13,325 people, 5,252 households, and 3,744 families residing in the township.

23.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.