Bronson was named for Jabez B. Bronson, the area's first settler, who moved there from Ohio in 1828. He became the first postmaster in 1830 and called the place Bronson's Prairie. It was incorporated as a village in 1866. The name was shortened to Bronson in 1871 when the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad built a rail station there. Bronson was chartered as a city in 1934 and later established a new City Charter in 1985 creating the Council-Manager form of government. In the fall of 2016, the city celebrated its 150th anniversary.