For pre-formatted natality & mortality data please see Vital Statistics Reports (VSR).

For other health data resources please see the Health Data & Info section.

Health Care
Berrien County had 6.6 licensed nursing home beds per 100 persons in 1999, compared with the state average of 5.5 per 100 persons. In 1999, the number of physicians in the county per 10,000 persons was 5.5, compared to the state average of 19.3. For more community indicators, please go to OASIS .

History*

Berrien County was created in 1856 from Coffee, Irwin, and Lowndes counties. The county was named for John McPherson Berrian, a U.S. senator and U.S. Attorney General.

The county has four incorporated municipalities: Alapaha, Enigma, Ray City, and Nashville, the county seat. Nashville was named for General Francis Nash of North Carolina, a distinguished soldier of the Revolutionary War. Alapaha, named by the Cherokee Indians who once lived there, means "smiling sunshine" or "laughing water."