Richland is located in the middle of what was once the Gull Prairie, an upland area relatively free of trees and maintained by natural and man-made fires. The area had a few Pottawatamie villages, one was located on the west side of nearby Gull Lake. Fish and game were plentiful, and the land was very fertile. Since there were few trees to clear, the prairie was among the first areas of Kalamazoo County to be settled. By the 1830s, the Native Americans had been forced west, and Richland was a thriving frontier village. The village even contended with Prairie Ronde for the county seat, but the centrally-located village of Bronson (now Kalamazoo) was ultimately chosen.