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Michigan · Southwest Michigan · Indiana Border
St. Joseph County, Michigan
Southwest Michigan's three-river manufacturing county — from Three Rivers' confluence of the St. Joseph, Rocky, and Portage rivers to Sturgis's precision automotive supplier corridor, Centreville's courthouse community, and a border county where Indiana's influence blends with Michigan's manufacturing tradition in one of the state's quieter corners.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: St. Joseph County Emergency Services/Homeland Security – 650 E Main St, Centreville, MI 49032 (Sheriff’s Office); maintains and updates the County Emergency Operations Plan; maintains a database of residents requiring specialized life support for prioritized welfare checks during outages/emergencies.
St. Joseph County 911 Central Dispatch – 620 E. Main St, Centreville, MI 49032 (next to the Sheriff’s Department) | Non-emergency (269) 467-4195; text-to-911 available; coordinates dispatch for 22 police, fire, and ambulance services across 512 square miles.
Sheriff: St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office – 650 E Main St, P.O. Box 339, Centreville, MI 49032 | (269) 467-9045 (24/7); serves the county as the elected chief peace officer under Michigan law.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-131 and M-60 serve Centreville, the county seat; St. Joseph County was set off and organized by the Michigan Territory legislature in 1829, named for the St. Joseph River (itself named for Fort St. Joseph).
Notes: Sturgis, the county’s largest city, is genuinely nicknamed the “Electric City” for its municipal electric utility and the Sturgis Dam, a hydroelectric facility on the St. Joseph River completed in 1911.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: St. Joseph County Courthouse – Centreville, MI 49032.
Notes: St. Joseph County is genuinely home to the oldest and largest Amish community in Michigan. Sturgis has a charming founding legend: Judge John Sturgis settled the area in 1827, and when it came time to name the new town, territorial surveyor (and future Michigan Governor) Lewis Cass reportedly insisted it be named for Sturgis, remembering a pan of biscuits Mrs. Sturgis had sent to his surveying party years earlier.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: St. Joseph County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via stjosephcountymi.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current Centreville/Sturgis-area public library address/phone via stjosephcountymi.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Sturgis Dam and Sturgis Reservoir, Pioneer Park (site of Judge John Sturgis’s original home), and the county’s Amish farm country are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine oldest-and-largest Amish community in Michigan and Sturgis’s charming biscuit-naming legend are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: St. Joseph County Equalization Department – confirm current contact via stjosephcountymi.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
St. Joseph County Animal Control – 652 E. Main Street, Centreville, MI 49032 | (269) 467-6475; a county department providing dog/kennel licensing, cruelty/complaint investigation, and adoption services. Hours: Mon-Fri (closed for lunch 12-1 PM), closed Sat/Sun/holidays.
Spay/neuter assistance available through the Animal Rescue Fund (ARF).
⚠️ NAMING TRAP: “Humane Society of St. Joseph County” (humanesocietystjc.org) is a DIFFERENT organization located in St. Joseph County, INDIANA – not affiliated with this Michigan county. Do not confuse the two when sourcing content.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: St. Joseph County – confirm current contact via stjosephcountymi.gov.
NOTES: St. Joseph County is the third county in the twelfth and final batch of the Michigan v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine oldest-and-largest Amish community in Michigan and Sturgis’s charming biscuit-naming legend are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About St. Joseph County
St. Joseph County is southwest Michigan’s St. Joseph River and Indiana border fruit belt county – the river’s agricultural corridor and the manufacturing communities near Indiana define a county where Centreville serves the county government while Sturgis and Three Rivers anchor the county’s commercial and industrial activity.
Centreville (the county seat, population ~1,500) is St. Joseph County’s governmental hub while Sturgis (population ~10,000) and Three Rivers (population ~7,000) serve as the county’s commercial centers near Indiana.
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St. Joseph County Assessor at 125 W. Main Street, Centreville, MI 49032, phone 269-467-5609. MI assessed at 50% of true cash value.
Courts & Legal
St. Joseph County Probate Court at 105 Center Street, Centreville, MI 49032, phone 269-467-5518, handles estates and probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
125 W. Main St., Centreville, MI 49032
(269) 467-5602
Genealogy
County-level record sources
St. Joseph County Probate Court (estate/probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated St. Joseph County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
St. Joseph County Probate Court St. Joseph County Courthouse, 125 W. Main Street, Centreville, MI 49032 St. Joseph County is in southwestern Michigan on the Indiana border, seated in Centreville.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Michigan probate is governed by the Estates and Protected Individuals Code (EPIC), MCL 700.1101 et seq.
Transfer by Affidavit (Small Estate Affidavit) – under MCL 700.3982/700.3983, available when the estate’s gross value (after funeral and burial expenses) doesn’t exceed a threshold that’s adjusted annually for inflation (roughly $50,000-$53,000 in recent years). No real estate can be involved. At least 28 days must pass after death before this affidavit can be used. The affidavit isn’t filed with the court; it’s presented directly to whoever holds the asset (a bank, for instance), along with a death certificate.
Petition and Order for Assignment (PC 556) – a small estate process for estates at or below the same statutory threshold, but this one CAN include real property. An heir or the person who paid the funeral bill files this petition with the probate court; the judge reviews and signs the order, and there’s a filing fee plus a statutory inventory fee based on estate value.
Informal Probate – the standard track for most estates above the small-estate threshold. Filed using Application for Informal Probate and/or Appointment of Personal Representative (PC 558); the court issues Letters of Authority (PC 573) to the personal representative without a hearing when the application is straightforward.
Formal/Supervised Administration – required when the will is contested, there’s a dispute over who should serve as personal representative, or the estate needs ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for probate
Gather the death certificate, the will (if any), and an inventory of the decedent’s assets to determine which path fits.
File the appropriate petition or application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent lived.
For informal probate, the court reviews the application and issues Letters of Authority appointing the personal representative, typically without a hearing.
The personal representative gathers and inventories assets, notifies and pays valid creditors, and – no earlier than 12 months after appointment – files a Sworn Closing Statement (PC 584) for informal probate, or a Petition for Complete Settlement (PC 585) followed by a court Order of Complete Settlement (PC 586) for formal administration.
What it costs
Michigan probate generally runs 7 to 18 months and costs roughly 3% to 7% of the estate’s value in typical cases.
Filing fees vary by petition type; a statutory inventory fee, set by MCL 600.871, is calculated based on the estate’s total value and applies to most probate filings.
Michigan does not require an attorney for probate, though many people use one for anything beyond a very simple estate.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
651 E. Main St., Centreville, MI 49032
(269) 467-4195
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
125 W. Main St., Centreville, MI 49032
(269) 467-5602
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MI DHHS — Southwest Region
(269) 467-1300
Spectrum Health Lakeland — Niles
spectrumhealthlakeland.org (Niles — accessible)
Bronson South Haven
bronsonhealth.com (Three Rivers — Bronson Three Rivers Hospital is quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: St. Joseph County Health Department – confirm current phone via stjosephcountymi.gov.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Centreville
Population: 61,000
Area: 504 mi²
Established: 1829
Tier: 3
Public Records
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