Baldwin is in
Lake County (of which it is the county seat), and in the
West-Southwest Region. Baldwin is located north of
Grand Rapids between Ludington and Big Rapids along Highway 37 near the Pere
Marquette River and Lake Michigan.
Baldwin was first developed in the early 1870s during the Lumber era, it was originally but unofficially named Hanibal, after an early settler to the area. In 1872, the first store was built by Issac Grant, who called a committee to give it an official name. So they decided on "Baldwin City," after then Governor of Michigan, Henry P. Baldwin, with "City" dropped later. It was given a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad in 1873 and became the County Seat in 1874. It was incorporated as a village in 1887.