Gilead, Michigan

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Gilead Township. It lies in ZIP code area 49028. The Survey maps it on the Bronson South quadrangle.

Gilead within Branch County

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1953 USGS Fort Wayne quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
1956 USGS Fort Wayne quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
1960 USGS Bronson South quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1985 USGS Elkhart quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

Fires near this place

7 since 2018

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Gilead between 2018 and 2020, burning about 11 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Equipment and vehicle use	4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1
Debris and open burning	1
Smoking	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
16 April 2019	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	LAKELAND VFD 0019047 - 2019
1 April 2019	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	BRONSON FD 0000104 - 2019
28 March 2019	Equipment and vehicle use	5.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	BRONSON FD 0000097 - 2019
26 March 2018	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	LAKELAND VFD 0018051 - 2018
17 March 2018	Smoking	1.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	BRONSON FD 0000075 - 2018
27 February 2019	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	BRONSON FD 0000073 - 2019
9 January 2020	Equipment and vehicle use	1.0 acres	Michigan Department of Natural Resources	BRONSON FD 2000006 - 2020

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Branch County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Gilead: 1 producer, 1 past producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Rice Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
	State Line Sand and Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Branch County

Storms near this place

7 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gilead in 7 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
April 2025	Tornado (EF1)	East Gilead	$100,000	Damage survey from the National Weather Service along with Steuben County EMA found damage consistent with a tornado that touched down on the south side of Orland, IN. The tornado destroyed an old, small barn on the south side, before uprooting and snapping several trees and a communications pole in east Orland. The tornado damaged the roof of an apartment building, including ripping up the wood sheathing on the south end of the building. Non-conclusive, likely rear flank downdraft winds severely damaged a large barn at N 900 W and W State Rd 120 and a set of trees just off to the east. Across the street, a dozen or so trees were uprooted or snapped in a cemetery. Tree damage was also noted in the adjacent tree line. The tornado reached max width at the border of IN/MI where a large swath of significant tree damage occurred to a piece of property owned by the Indiana Toll Road. A semi-truck was reported to be blown over on the Toll Rd. The tornado crossed into Michigan with intermittent light structural and tree damage occurring near East Gilead and extending northeastward. The tornado reached maximum intensity of 105 mph (EF-1) when it struck a farm on E Pearl Road, tearing roofs off large silos, destroying a section of barn, driving 2x4 into the nearby home, and destroying another out building to the west.
April 2025	Tornado (EF1)	East Gilead	$50,000	Within the same parent cell as the Orland tornado, a NWS survey found a secondary tornado occurred in Branch County Michigan. Tree damage was first noted between W Southern Rd and Booth Rd. The tornado traveled northeast and then northerly, causing damage to multiple Amish buildings, many of which had already been repaired and debris cleaned up. Minor roof damage was noted to a barn on Cranson Rd. The tornado caused the most significant damage on W Pearl Rd west of Bethel where numerous large healthy trees were snapped or uprooted. Damage was also noted to a home, but repairs were completed prior to the survey. Maximum wind speeds were estimated at up to 100 mph based on the tree and limited structure damage that could be assessed.
October 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	East Gilead	$5,000	no account filed
June 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Gilead	-	EM reports multiple trees down.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	East Gilead	-	Emergency management officials reported a tree was blown down, blocking Adams Road.
April 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	East Gilead	-	Spotters reported trees and power lines down west of East Gilead.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Gilead	-	TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT COUNTY.

Every storm recorded in Branch County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Hatmaker	3.7 miles	9
East Gilead	4.1 miles	9
Bethel	4.9 miles	9
Bronson	5.3 miles	10
West Kinderhook	5.5 miles	9
Kinderhook	8.0 miles	9
Lockwood	8.0 miles	10
Batavia	8.3 miles	10

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 626815. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.