Historical Facts
'Gone With the Timber'
- Saginaw territory organized in 1824 and attached to Oakland County for judicial purposes.
- Saginaw Township (including the entire county and adjacent land) was organized in 1830.
- A January 28, 1835 act organized Saginaw County (which then included Bay County) as an official county.
- Original Residents, Indian Tribes: Sauk and Chippewa
- First Recorded European Contact:
- First visitor - Father Henri Nouvel 1675, a Jesuit Priest from St. Ignace, first European visitor to Saginaw.
- 1675-1819 European fur trappers and traders.
- First Permanent Settlement - Saginaw 1819
- 1819 Families begin to arrive in Saginaw and Treaty of Saginaw signed.
- 1822 Fort Saginaw established.
- 1823 Fort Saginaw abandoned by military. Commander states, 'Nothing but Indians, muskrats, and bull frogs could possibly subsist here.' Enough said.
- 1830 Alexis de Tocqueville visits Saginaw area on horseback. 'No sound was heard but the annoying hum of mosquitoes and the stamp of our horses' feet . . .' Not a garden spot yet . . .
- 1837 First School District organized. First school located on Court St., near courthouse.
- 1839 First County courthouse, on same location as present Courthouse. Plot permanently donated for public use only.
- 1845 German Lutherans from Franconia, of the Kingdom of Bavaria, come to settle. One mission becomes Frankenmuth. (Bronner's plastic Santa comes a little later).
- 1847 First shipment of Saginaw Pine sent to New York, triggers demand out East for the high quality timber.
- 1850 Norman Little builds a plank road from Flint to Saginaw. East Saginaw expands more rapidly than Saginaw City, on the west. There was still no bridge for easy river crossing.
Timber Boom:
Saginaw County Population
- 1850 Census: 2,609
- 1884 Census: 75,813
East Saginaw grew to incorporate other small villages:
- 1. Salina, once at Center Avenue and S. Washington.
- 2. South Saginaw, separated from East Saginaw by Hoyt Park and Webber Avenue.
- 3. The Village of Florence, South of Genesee Avenue, on the west side of the river.
- 1863 First high school - Central School located on Court Street.
- 1864 First bridge across Saginaw River - Genesee Bridge (toll bridge).
- 1869 Marie Dressler born in Saginaw (Dinner at Eight, Min & Bill).
Unofficial Local Epidemic:
- 'Lumberjack Smallpox'' - a disease caused by stomping the face of a downed opponent with your hobnailed boots.
- 1882 Peak year of Lumber Era: 1,001,274,905 boardfeet of timber cut in mills along the Saginaw River.
- 1885 Strike among workers in sawmills, demanding a 10 hour work day, organized by the Knights of Labor.
- Eventually, the National Guard was called out to maintain peace. The strike dwindled away, with mill owners gaining control over workers.
- Salt production flourished during lumber boom. Waste from the sawmills was used to make salt from brine water. This was no longer profitable after the lumber industry declined.
- 1894 Riverside Park opens on Green Point. Merry-go-rounds, roller coasters, balloon ascensions, pavilion dancing - served by Union St. Railway. All vanished, without a trace.
- 'After the Ball' famous 1890's Waltz - written by a bellhop in the Bancroft Hotel.
- 1899 New industries developed after the lumber era. First Sugar Beet Factory in Saginaw at S. Jefferson and Rust.
- 1903 Saginaw County had 11 operating coal mines employing 1,500.
- 1905 First car produced in Saginaw (at N. Washington and 6th Street) the Ranier.
- 1910 Ango Electric Car produced on S. Jefferson Avenue.
- 1916 The 'Yale Eight', produced by Saginaw Motorcar Company. The Lehr produced by Lehr Motor Co. on River St.
- 1917 State first orders Saginaw to build sewage disposal system (other than river) - later court order forces compliance, 1953.
- City of Pumps - to provide drinking water, city drilled wells and provided pumps. Everyone had to pump and haul drinking water until 1948. (Wonder why they didn't use the river . . .)
- 1918 'The Peninsular' automobile produced at Washington and 6th Street.
Two trucks were produced in Saginaw:
- Nelson Brothers Motor Truck Co.
- Ruggles Truck, in Carrollton.
- 1927 Saginaw Airport Co. formed the first commercial airfield on Janes Road.
- 1928-1931 Paramount Aircraft Corp. produced planes with pontoons for water landing. Test flights landed on Saginaw River.
- 1933 During the Bank Holiday in the Depression, Morley Brothers loaned money to city so it could make it's payroll.
- 1941-1942 Tri-City Airport was built by the Federal Government during W.W.II to serve as pilot training field. German prisoners were housed in barracks there.
- 1950 Stevie Wonder was born in Saginaw.