The history of Saginaw, Michigan explores the development of the city from the time that Native American hunter-gatherers ranged through the area. There was little settlement, though, until the 19th century when the marshes were drained to alleviate the endemic mosquito infestation.
The site of what later became the city of Saginaw was originally inhabited by the Anishnabeg. French missionaries and traders first appeared in the area during the late 17th century and encountered the Ojibwe (Chippewa) living in the area. Because of convenient means of travel to the area by rivers, streams, and Lake Huron, the area was one of the sites of councils of The Three Fires: Ojibwe, Pottawatomi, and Ottawa. Henri Nouvel, a Jesuit missionary visited the area in the 17th century and recorded his travels in a journal. A trading post was established by Louis Campeau in 1816. The Treaty of Saginaw in 1819 cleared the way for settlement by white people. To control the Ojibwe in the region, the United States government established Fort Saginaw in 1822, but the mosquito infestation and humidity was so severe that the fort was closed in 1824. Campau platted a town, but few lots were sold for some time. Also in 1822, Saginaw County was established.
Saginaw realized significant growth due to the lumber industry boom of the 19th century. Two cities had been established Saginaw City and East Saginaw, which were consolidated into the current city of Saginaw in March, 1890.
The city grew substantially as automotive manufacturers opened plants in Saginaw and when the city answered the call to produce munitions and motor vehicle parts during World War II. African-Americans migrated from the south for manufacturing jobs and Saginaw saw a significant change in the demographics within the city, which created racial tensions that affected the political climate and opportunities for African-Americans, such as the ability to purchase houses.
In the late 20th century, the city began to decline economically as the number of manufacturing jobs declined significantly and the rate of unemployment increased dramatically. More recently, economic development in the region is focused on comparative advantages in innovation, clean energy, and continued manufacturing exports.
Early history Native People
The area of the present City of Saginaw was inhabited from about 1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D. by the Hopewell people, followed by the Anishnabeg. The area surrounding Green Point, an island at the intersection of the Saginaw and Tittabawasee rivers, provided sufficient rice, fish, and waterfowl to sustain Hopewell population growth.
The Hopewell introduced agriculture to the region, growing squash, sunflowers, pumpkin, corn, and beans. They also innovated the large-scale production of pottery, which including pieces used for cooking. Growing reliance on agriculture lead to an shift away from hunting and gathering, though settlements along the shorelines were most convenient for fishing and travel via canoe. Native Americans in the area travelled to access seasonal food and resources, and the Saginaw River area was continually revisited for fishing and farming during spring and summer. Green Point archaeological sites have found 20 species of fish bones consumed by inhabitants, estimated to make up 25-30% of local food supplies. Maple syrup gathering was an essential task in the spring. Anthropologist Richard Yarnell documented 130 plants used as food by local cultures during this period.
Plants were gathered by Native people to meet their material needs . Important plants in the area and their uses include:
+ Trees Name Food & Beverage Medicine - Beverage Medicine - Other Charms & Ceremonial Smoking Materials Dye Plants Crafts & Technology Green ash X Quaking aspen X X Paper birch XX Black cherry XX Box elder XX Red oak X X X White pine XXX X Sassafras XX
+ Shrubs & Bushes Name Food & Beverage Medicine - Beverage Medicine - Other Charms & Ceremonial Smoking Materials Dye Plants Crafts & Technology Speckled alder X XX Blueberry XX Red osier dogwood X X XX Common elder XX Bush honeysuckle X Serviceberry X X X Staghorn sumac XX X X Willow X X X
+ Smaller Plants Name Food & Beverage Medicine - Beverage Medicine - Other Charms & Ceremonial Smoking Materials Dye Plants Crafts & Technology Bracken fern X X Cattail X Goldenrod X X X Riverbank grape XX Northern blue flag XX X Jack-in-the-pulpit X Common milkweed XXX X
Indigenous land management and food production techniques shaped the local ecosystem prior to European contact. Cultural burning to increase forest food production, as well as the storage of fish in man-made ponds, led to extensive flooding and silting in the Saginaw River Basin. The present City of Saginaw itself served as a location for semi-permanent settlement until the time of European contact. This may be due, in part, to the low lying and frequently flooding land adjacent to the Saginaw River, much of which was marshland prior to being drained in the 19th century. Mosquito infestation was endemic to the area.
The Saginaw region includes an extensive network of many rivers and streams that converge into the Saginaw River, which provided a means for easy travel for the Native American population among numerous settlements and hunting areas, including access to Lake Huron. Saginaw was also a frequent meeting location for the Council of Three Fires, an Anishinaabe alliance between the Ojibwe, Ottawa and Pottawatomi peoples.
Some historians believe that the Sauk previously lived in the area and were driven out by the Ojibwe (Chippewa), before the area was first visited by Europeans. This claim is still heavily disputed, as it is believed Samuel de Champlain confused Native American descriptions of the Sauk living along western Lake Michigan with those living on the west coast of Lake Huron. The Ojibwe and Odawa engaged in many battles with the Sauk across Lake Michigan. Champlain was only aware of Lake Huron at the time, not Lake Michigan. Bones found on Skull Island, once believed to belong to Sauk people who died in battle, were likely the removed remains of local smallpox victims . The name of the area as Saginaw most likely comes from the Ojibwe words meaning 'the place of the outlet', made of "sag" (to flow out) and "ong" (place of).
French missionaries French missionaries first reached the area in the 17th century. Henri Nouvel, a Jesuit missionary who made repeated visits to the Native Americans present in the area, is of particular significance. He recorded information concerning his travels during the 1670s in his journals.
Territory of the United States The French controlled the territory consisting of the present day State of Michigan until it was ceded to the British following the Seven Years' War in 1763. The French established permanent settlements in many locations throughout the Great Lakes, but most of the interior of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, including the Saginaw River valley, was undeveloped. Both the French and the British primarily maintained settlements for trade and strategic defense, neither of which provided much reason to develop the Saginaw region.
Following the British defeat during the American Revolutionary War, Michigan was officially ceded by treaty to the United States in 1784. Despite this, the British remained in de facto control of the area for long after. It was not until after the conclusion of the War of 1812 that all presence of British military was removed from what is present-day Michigan.
19th century
Trading post The first permanent white settlement in the area was a fur-trading post on the west side of the Saginaw River established in 1816 by Louis Campau. The U.S. federal government extinguished Native American interests for most of the land in the area with the Treaty of Saginaw in 1819, clearing the way for white settlers.
Fort Saginaw In 1822, the trading post was used by the U.S. Army to establish Fort Saginaw to control the actions of the Ojibwe in the region.History of Saginaw County, Michigan, p. 164 Due to the undesirable conditions of intense humidity and mosquito infestation, the Fort was abandoned by 1824.
Saginaw city and county
On September 10, 1822, Territorial Governor Lewis Cass issued a proclamation that set off the boundaries of Saginaw County, although it remained attached to Oakland County for administrative purposes until there was sufficient population to organize a separate government. The county boundaries initially included what is now the southern portion of Bay County and Midland County and the northwest corner of Shiawassee County.
Campau platted the town in 1823 under the name "Town of Sagana" but few plots were sold. The town languished for most of the following decade, but was re-platted in December 1830, comprising river front from Cass St. on the south to Harrison St. and north to Jefferson. These plots sold slowly. By 1835, only 24 had been sold and the remainder were transferred to a new owner, who made another plat in February 1837. However, the financial crisis of the Panic of 1837 dampened interest in purchasing properties. After selling only 58 out of the 407 plots, the remainder was sold again in 1841. Many of the early Euro-American settlers of Saginaw married Ojibwe women. For example, Jacob Gradroot, a native of Germany who was the first European or Euro-American to settle permanently along the Saginaw River below Fort Saginaw, married a daughter of the Ojibwe leader Kishkawko.History of Saginaw County, Michigan (Chicago: Charles A. Chapman, 1881) p. 161.
In 1831, the northwest corner of Saginaw County was detached to become a part of Midland County. In 1835, the southeast corner was detached to become a part of Genesee County. In 1857, the northern portion was detached to become a part of Bay County, although the precise alignment of the northern boundary shifted several more times in subsequent years.
On July 12, 1830, the Territorial Legislature passed an act that erected the Township of Saginaw, effective with the first town meeting on April 4, 1831. The township comprised all of Saginaw County, which at the time was still attached to Oakland County. On January 28, 1835, the Territorial Legislature passed an act organizing county government in Saginaw County, effective on February 9, 1835.
Four years before the county government was organized, another proclamation by Governor Cass on January 11, 1831, located the county seat at what was to become the City of Saginaw. The settlement was which had been platted for that purpose by a group of area residents.
Lumber boom The main cause for the development of Saginaw was the lumber needs of the growing American nation. A virgin growth forest principally consisting of white pine trees covered most of Michigan. The convenient access to water transportation provided by the Saginaw River and its numerous tributaries fueled a massive expansion in population and economic activity. As the trees were being felled in the region, logs were floated down the rivers to sawmills located in Saginaw, then to be loaded onto ships and later railroad cars.