USA > Michigan > Saginaw County > History of Saginaw County, Michigan; historical, commercial, biographical, Volume I > Part 21
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Judge Williams occupied during his busy and eventful life sev- eral offices of public trust. He was a member of the first conven- tion to form a constitution for the State of Michigan, a member of each branch of the State Legislature, Commissioner of Internal Improvements, County Judge and Treasurer of Saginaw county, and was at the time of his death Mayor of Saginaw City.
Mr. St. George was born in Montreal, Ont., in 1774, and was a French Canadian. He came to Michigan when a young man and took up his abode in the woods, near where Detroit now is. He cleared of timber the land where the city hall stands and consid- erable more in its immediate vicinity. When the war of 1812 broke out St. George joined the American forces and fought through the war. In 1815 he visited the Chippewas of the Sagi- naw region for the first time, and a year later was a trader among them. His death took place in 1880. Judge Woodward and St. George, of Detroit, Harvey Williams and the children of Oliver Williams, of Saginaw, formed the survivors of the pioneers of Detroit, of 1815, in the centennial year. St. George and Wood- ward have since passed away.
Norman Little, son of Doctor Charles Little, of Livingston county, N. Y. settled permanently in Saginaw in 1836. His journey thither was made on the first steam-boat that came up the Saginaw. His father is said to have visited this valley as early as 1822, and again in 1823-'4, when he entered almost all the land along the river from the northern limits of East Saginaw to Green Point and from Saginaw City to the Tittabawassee. In 1836 Norman Little bought the site of Saginaw from the enterprising Dr. Millington, of Ypsilanti, and followed up this purchase the year
211
HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
succeeding by introducing the building era. In 1850 he formed a partnership with J. M. Hoyt & Son, of New York, purchased 2,400 acres of land on the east side of the river, and with his partners aided in inaugurating and building up that city. In 1852 he moved to his new home on the east bank of the river, where he resided until the village, which he nursed, rose to the importance of a city. His death occurred one year later, in 1860.
Asa Whitney settled on the Tittabawassee in the fall of 1825. The succeeding spring he entered upon the cultivation of a farm, but owing to his life of "single blessedness" this proved almost impracticable. He was drowned in April, 1827. It is said he committed suicide.
Sherman Stevens served at the post for some time. His knowl- edge of the Otchipwe language enabled him to hold a very important place in the estimation of the Indian, even as he did already in that of the French and American traders, with whom le came in contact. He was the father of Miss Sara Stevens, the tragedienne.
W. L. P. Little, born at Avon, N. Y., in 1814, may be said to have settled here as early as 1832, though he did not become a permanent resident until 1836. Entering the office of the Saginaw City Company, he imbibed their principles of enterprise, and in 1840 began that commercial career which conferred so many advantages on the district.
James McCormick, born at Albany, N. Y., May 25, 1787, traveled westward in 1832, and settled at Flint that same year. He moved to Lower Saginaw in 1841, where he resided for five years previous to his death. It was stated that never was tlie loss of a pioneer more deplored. While living he was the In- dians' friend and the associate of the American pioneer.
James Fraser was born in Scotland. He left that country for the United States in 1829, and five years later located lands on the Tittabawassee, near Saginaw City. From that time to his deatlı he was among the first citizens of Michigan.
John Farley, son of Capt. John Farley, of the U. S. Artillery, visited Saginaw in 1831, and, associated with Samuel McCloskey, platted a portion of the land now comprised in the city, under the name of the Town of Saginaw. McCloskey was a son-in-law of Ga- briel Godfroy, of Ypsilanti. Farley was subsequently appointed on coast survey duty. He was born in 1800, and died in 1873.
Sidney S. Campbell was born at Paris, Oneida Co., N. Y. He moved to Pontiac, Mich., in 1830; to Cass River Bridge, in 1836, where he platted the town of Bridgeport, and to Lower Saginaw in 1837.
Israel Catlin, born at Chemung, Schuyler Co., N. Y., in June, 1814, settled at Saginaw City in 1841.
James G. Birney, born at Danville, Ky. In 1841, he settled in the Lower Saginaw district, and three years later entered the Presidential contest of 1844 as the nominee of the "Liberty Par- ty."
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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
Samuel Dexter, whose name is so familiarly connected with the history of Washtenaw county, platted the northeast quarter of section 24, township of Saginaw, in 1835, and a year later sold his interests here to Mackie, Oakley and Jennison, of New York.
Medor and Joseph Trombley settled at Portsmouth in 1835. Ben- wa Trombley arrived in the fall of that year. Leon and Louis Trombley arrived in 1832; the former as Indian blacksmith. The Trombleys were Frenchmen, and among the most energetic of the early settlers. The grandfather of this family is said to have visited the valley in 1795, for the purpose of trading with the Chippewas.
Cromwell Barney located lands in the Lower Saginaw district in 1837, and erected a log house on the site subsequently occupied by Munger & Co's store.
Thomas Rogers settled at Portsmouth, in 1838, and moved shortly after to the district known as Lower Saginaw, where he operated a blacksmith shop. During the cholera epidemic of 1852, this settler was one of the many which it claimed for a victim.
Louis Clawson came to the valley in 1839, with instructions from the Government to make a survey of the territory extending from the southern lines of Ogemaw and Iosco counties to the north- ern limits of Montmorency and Alpena.
Charles L. Richman settled at Saginaw City in 1836. He came here with Norman Little and Gov. Mason, making the trip from Detroit on board the " Gov. Marcy," whichi was the first steam-boat that appeared upon the waters of the Saginaw.
Benjamin Cushway, a resident of Saginaw for the past 39 years, quietly passed to his rest May 25, 1881, after an illness of about eight weeks. He was able to be up one day, but was taken worse about 5 o'clock next morning and died, as above stated, of paralysis of the heart. Mr. Cushway was born in Detroit in 1809. He learned the blacksmithing trade, and in 1832 was appointed by Gen. Cass, then Territorial Governor of Michigan, as United States blacksmith for the Chippewa Indians, with headquarters at Saginaw City, a position whichi he held for 34 years. In 1834 he married Adelaide Robison. Their home was in Fort Saginaw on the block where the Taylor House now stands. In 1836 his headquarters were moved to Bay City, then Lower Saginaw, where he remained 10 years. Returning to this city, he built a house where the Miller block now stands, in which he lived several years. Since 1865 he had not been engaged in active business. Three years ago his wife died, and recently in conversation with a friend he expressed the opinion that lie would not last long. He had a wonderful memory, and within the last two weeks before his death recounted many of the trials and pleasures and the fate of early inhabitants of Saginaw. Four children, Mrs. A. C. Andre, Frank, Alfonzo and Charles Cushway still reside in this city.
Stephen Wolverton arrived at the mouth of the river, July 19, 1839, with authority to erect a light-house. He commenced the work, which was completed by Capt. Levi Jolinson.
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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
Capt. John S. Wilson, Capt. B. F. Pierce, Seth Willey, Dr. Rosseau, uncle of Gen. Rosseau, F. W. Backus and B. R. Hall, were among the pioneers of Lower Saginaw.
Aloney Rust, a pioneer of the Saginaw, died September 18, 1874. He arrived liere in 1834.
Abram Butts was among the earliest and most patriotic of the settlers. He was collector in the early township days, and played the base drum at the first celebration of Independence Day.
James Busby was among the early settlers of the county. He filled many positions of trust, and the greatest confidence was re- posed in him by the people.
Elijalı N. Davenport moved from Flint to Saginaw in 1830. He loaded two flat-boats with his family and effects, and proceeded down the river. The journey continued for seven days, owing to delays caused by portages, at points where the drift-wood dammed the river.
Hiram L. Miller arrived at Saginaw in 1835. He was the first pastor of the Presbyterian Church, editor of the first newspaper projected here, and one of the leading citizens of the present time.
Thomas McCarty, one of the earliest settlers of the Saginaw, as well as a pioneer of the State, left Roxbury, Mass., in 1829, for Michigan. He settled in Saginaw in 1830. He died at the resi- dence of his brother, Edward McCarty, a settler in the township of Tittabawassee, Sept. 21, 1855. He was a resident of Saginaw county for 25 years. In company with his father, Edward McCarty (a gentleman connected with the Irish revolution of 1798), he came to Michigan, and, with ax and pack upon his shoulder, trod the un- broken wilderness northwest of Detroit to the home of his adop- tion in this county. After seeing the lands in the vicinity of the old fort, he resolved to locate in Tittabawassee. In 1850 he was elected Representative to the State Legislature. Mr. McCarty's brothers, Edward and James McCarty, settled here in 1834.
Geo. W. Bullock, born at Savoy, Berkshire Co., Mass., Aug. 27, 1809, traveled west in 1831, and settled in Saginaw in 1836. He took an active part in every movement connected with the prog- ress of the city. His deathi took place June 6, 1861.
Robert Ure, whose name is associated with the early political and commercial affairs of the Valley, arrived here in 1831. He filled many public offices, and was otherwise honored with the confidence of the people.
Dr. D. H. Fitzhugh was one of the early proprietors of the Saginaw Valley. He inade large purchases of land in the vicinity of Saginaw in 1835, and about 1840 he bought several parcels of land on the opposite side of the river, and with the late James Fraser and James G. Birney purchased the stock of the Saginaw Bay Company, and became one of the proprietors of Lower Sag- inaw, now Bay City. His death occurred at Mt. Morris, N. Y., April 23, 1881.
214
HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
THE LAND BUYERS.
For the purpose of the county history proper, the names of those who patented the lands of the county between the years 1822, the date of the garrisoning of Fort Saginaw, and 1837, are here given. Of the entire number of buyers named in this list, only a few left for other scenes ; so it may be stated with a degree of cer- tainty that the men whose names follow were among the old set- tlers of the county. In the histories of the various townships the names, locations, and dates of purchase of all lands bought from the general Government, situated within such township will be given. This list is confined to the term between 1822 and 1837, the last 10 years of which may be considered the pioneer period, as by that time the valley was well known, and the troubles which usually beset the new settler partially removed.
Jonathan Kearsley,
1823.
Smith Justin,
John Biddle. 1824.
A. L. Whitney, Hermann Ladd,
Charles Little T. Chappel,
1830.
David Stanard,
Henry C. West,
Govener Vinton, Luther Jones.
Thomas Simpson,
1831. Donald Urquhart. 1832. Ephraim S. Williams, Eleazer Jewett.
Gardner D. Williams, James P. Hayden,
1833.
Carolus A. Stebbins, George Damon, Abel Miller, William Cood,
Andrew Ure, Lancelot Spare,
John Brown, John Lacy, John Cameron.
Noah R. Campbell, Henry Campau, Joseph Holden, Francis Anderson, William Witchell,
John McMillan, John Thompson, Edward Green, Robert Thompson, Hugh McCubberish, Phineas Spaulding, William Draper, Joseph Pitcairn,
David E. Corbin, 1835. William Barclay, Anthony Swarthout,
Stephen H. Herrick, Schuyler Hodges,
Charles H. Rodd,
Stephen H. Herrich,
Mary B. Brown,
Cornelius Bergen,
Gardner Mott, Thomas H. Newbold,
Eleazer Mason, Joseph E. Town, John Malone, James R. Slausson, John S. Le Roy,
Albert H. Dorr,
Daniel H. Fitzhugh, James Marsac, Enoch Olmstead, Bradley Bunnell, Trumble Cary, Abel Millington,
Thomas H. Newbold,
Edward A. Leroy,
Duncan McKinzie, Weston G. Elmer, Edwin Herrick.
William Richards, Leander Smith, Lewis Dupratts, Benedict Tromble, Thomas Simpson, Elijah N. Davenport. Willard B Bunnell, Augustus Harrison, Peter A. Cowdrey, Abel S. Peters, Benjamin Clapp, Thomas H. Newbold, Sidney S Campbell, John Neate,
Joseph Busby,
Harvey Rumvil 1834.
Angus McDonald.
1822. James McCloskey.
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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
1836.
Zuba Barrows,
Ralph Wright,
Wait Black,
Joseph Adams,
Peter F. Ewer,
Elias H. Herrick,
William Thomas.
Alexander Howell,
Thomas Malone,
George Marshall,
Augustus C. Stevens,
Loomas Thyer,
Jacob B. Herrick,
Paul Spafford,
Allen Ayrault,
George Young,
James Bucbey,
Perry G. Gardner,
Thomas Smith,
Elias Colborn,
Nahum W. Capew,
Benjamin Cushway, Harvey Montgomery, John Todd,
Matthew Cobb,
Samuel A. Godard,
William C. Baker,
John McNiel,
Jerome B. Garland,
Sherman M. Rockwood,
James H. Jerome,
Asbel Aylsworth,
Curtis C. Gates,
James Hosmer,
Ashbel S. Thomson,
Andrew C. Scott,
Oliver Atherton,
Rowley Morris,
Philander Truesdell,
William Prout.
Renssellar Blackmer,
Cornelius Bergen,
Thomas P. Sawyer,
Freeland McDonald,
James R. Jackman,
Thomas L. L. Brent,
James Francis Clark,
Gabriel V. N. Hetfield,
John M. Hubinger, Hiram G. Hotchkiss, Josiah Beers,
Thomas J. Drake,
Henry G. Hubbard,
David Dietz,
Peter F. Ewer,
David Ellis,
Ephraim Williams,
Norman Little,
William T. Carroll,
John W. Edmunds,
Warner Lake, Jr.,
Silas Leighton,
Lot C. Hodgman, Hestor L. Stevens, David Lee, John S. Tolbott,
Nathan Phillips,
Thomas Howell,
Henry Stringham,
William Churchill,
Patterson Ferguson, Daniel Wood Thomas Wiard,
Benjamin K. Hall,
William Moon,
Fredrick Boell,
Charles Pratt,
David G. Hammer,
William Bingham, Charles P. Holmes, Richard Dibbley, George Call, John Rathbun, John Farquharson, John A. Welles, Gideon Paull, William S. Stevens, Charles McLean. Elijah D. Efner, Anthony Ten Eyck,
1837.
Harvey Miller, Charles A. Lull, William Rice, Robert A. Quartermass, Mortimer Wadhams, Caleb Embury, John L. Eastman,
Miriam M. Cummings, Polly Todd, Almira Woodford, Charles Chamberlain, Alexander Lee,
James Fraser, George W. Williams, John S. Bagg, Gardner D. Williams, Alpheus Williams, Joseph G. Bagg, James Morse,
John D. Jones, John Clifford,
Isaac Frost, Zenas D. Bassett,
Nathaniel Foster,
Jared H. Randell,
Toupaint Laferty, Albert Miller, Zenas D. Bassett,
John Patterson, John J. Charrnaud,
Joseph Lawrence, Stephen V.R.Trowbridge,
Ranson V. Ashley, Charles J, Sutton,
William McCullock, Orzamus Willard, John Rudd,
J. A. Blossom, James Wadsworth, Alexander McAuther,
Charles Matthews,
Caleb H. Wirts, Robert Smart,
James J. McCormick.
Lot Clark, Henry Dwight, John Smyth. James Davidson,
Amanda Vance,
Hellasy Burchhart,
Josiah G. Leech,
Russell G. Hurd,
Thomas McCarty,
Gardner D. Williams, James Fraser, Charles H. Carroll, E. S. Cobb, Edward G. Faile,
Charles B. Granniss, Allen Ayrault, Alexander Baxter, George Chandler, William S. Hosmer, Miranda Vance, Robert Stone, Abraham I. Shultz, Douglas Houghton, William Finley, Calvin Hotchkiss, Leman B. Hotchkiss, Stephen Beers, John G. Gebhard, Nicholas Bouck,
Francis G. Macey, Joseph F. Marsac, John McCullogh, James Ripey, Nicholas N. Stover, Stephen Warren, Lansing B. Migner, Eliza Chapin, Abner D. Debolt, Nicholas Hay ward, Ralph Hall, Ebenezer Conkling, Chester Ingalls, John G. Ireland,
216
HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
Barnard Hackett,
Hugh Quin,
Lemuel Brown,
John Falls,
Thomas Crickals.
Obadiah Crane,
Mary F. Barbour,
Samuel H. Fitzhugh,
Barnard Huckett,
Mary Ann Hunt,
James M. Williams,
Silas Leonard Parks,
Frederick H. Stephens,
Joseph T. Tromble,
James Marsac,
Orsmans Long,
Silas Barns,
Volney Owens,
Joseph J. Malden,
David Kirk,
John Kemp,
Lemuel Brown,
Peter Kemp,
James Laing,
Zenas Morse,
Thomas Barger,
Tuomas Freeman,
Alba Lull,
William Renwick,
John Drysdale,
Horatio Abell,
James Marsac,
Thomas Bloor,
Simeon Cumings,
Thomas Townsend,
John Ballard, Timothy Biddell,
Simon Law,
Benjamin Mclellan,
Duncan Mclellan,
William Eastman,
Moses P. Butler,
Stephen Reeves,
Robert C. S. Page,
Eurotas P. Hastings,
Calvin Townsend,
Horace Gilpin,
Philander R. Howe,
Abraham Buckee,
Venus Howe,
John T. Tallman,
Charles English,
Francis Anderson,
Samuel Noves,
Isaac Brown,
Andrew Middleton,
Benjamin F. Town,
Clarissa Hamilton,
James B. Hunt,
William H. H. Elliot,
Robert Harper,
John Barbour,
John Tallman,
George Wardman,
Elizabeth A. Barbour,
Chauncey Metcalf,
David Van Warner,
Gideon Lee,
Henry H. Le Roy,
A RETROSPECT.
What a change has come over the land since they first saw it! The metamorphosis from the sickle and the cradle to the modern harvester is not more wonderful than other changes which have been wrought; and he who brings up sad remembrances of a hard day's work, and a lumbago caused by the swinging of his cradle or scythe, smiles, when he thinks of that semi-barbarous period that could neither produce a harvester nor a mower. To- day he mounts into the seat of one of these machines, as he would into his phaeton, and with the assurance that, no matter what the condition of the grain, whether tangled, lodged or leaning, he masters a quarter section of wheat field more thoroughly and with greater economy than he could have managed a five-acre field 25 years ago.
The change is certainly material. They realize it; but yet they look back to the never-forgotten past, when contentment waited on the work of the old cradle, plow, and spade-to that time when the primitive character of all things rendered all primitively happy. Then contentment reigned supreme, and continued so to do until knowledge created ambitions, and those ambitions brought in their train their proverbial and numerous little troubles.
The change has been revolutionizing indeed! Then political meetings were called by messages passed from mouth to mouth, from neighbor to neighbor; now the columns of the great daily journals of the city, and of the weekly papers, supplemented by glaring posters call the attention of the people. Well organized cornet bands are sometimes employed to aid all that printers do,
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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
and even this has a satellite supplied to it, in the shape of a band of small boys, with a base drum, a snare drum and a dozen tin- whistles. The latter organization is solely the creature of a great political campaign, and discourses its peculiar music only previous to the quadriennial election. On very special occasions the cornet band is called out, and oftentimes a quartette party accompanies the candidate in his round of the townships. Change is stamped on everything. Progress accompanies it to the end.
CHAPTER V.
GERMAN SETTLEMENTS.
The history of the county was in the main, undoubtedly, made by the American pioneers. They had just opened up the new settlements on the Saginaw, advertised the resources of their land, and prepared as it were a way to peace and prosperity for the too- much-governed, industrious, and sedate German. Within eight years after the admission of Michigan into the Union of the States, and nine years after the organization of Saginaw county, the people of Central Europe began to direct their attention to the land of great forests, and to contribute their quota to its settlement. As early as 1845, the Kremer settlement was made here, and within the years immediately subsequent a representative of all the coun- tries from the Rhine to the Russian frontier could be found beginning a new life on every section of the lands of this county. Great numbers of the Germans, who came here between 1845 and 1859, made this county their home, and have contributed, in a high degree, to raise it to its present prosperous condition.
That such a people should claim pioneer honors will not be denied. In peace and war the German citizens of Saginaw have acted a patriotic part, and there is every reason to presume that, withi their knowledge of all the evils which a monarchical form of gov- ernment entails, they will stand by the Republic, and teach their children to honor a land dedicated to Liberty and marked out as the true home of manhood.
Of the German citizens of this county the following may be classed among the pioneers, the date of arrival and place of settle- ment being given:
1847 -- M. Huber, Blumfield; J. Meyer and M. Herbst, Saginaw.
1848-Carl Dhrele, Salina.
1849-Dr. M. C. T. Plessner, A. W. Achard, M. Ziegler, F. Herig, and C. Ulrich, Saginaw ; F. Dieckman, E. Saginaw ; F. Lepsch, Buena Vista; M. Ulrich, Frank- entrost ; and F. Vanfleet, Blumfield.
1850-J. Nerreter and Charles Langlass, E. Saginaw; E. Barck, J. Liskow, Wm. Fischer, Charles Wapler, Z. T. Schoerner, J. Bauer and H. Bernhard, Sagi- naw; J. Schaberg, Blumfield; and C. Hage and Val. Simon.
1851-Anton Crane, Blumfield ; Ernst Franck and L. and E Bloedon, Bay City ; Henry Miller, Saginaw City ; Wm. Seidel, Saginaw; and Wm. Grandjean and J. C. Spaeth.
1852 -- Fred. Koehler and Wm. Zwerk, E. Saginaw; R. Scheurmann, L. Zagel- meier and Charles Babo, Bay City; J. Backus, Saginaw; F. Fischer, Joseph Elderer, John Leipold, Peter Schneizer, M. Heubisch, John Stroebel and F. W. Roenicke.
1853-John Foetzinger and H. Romeike, Saginaw; J. Bechrow, E. Saginaw; and M. Riedel and John Ruff.
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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
1854 -- John Lentz, Bay county; Richard Kuehn, Wm. Schieb and Emil Scheur- mann, Saginaw ; Wm. Kumphert, Flint; and Geo. Schietberger, Franz Koehler and M. Stoker.
1855-F. Y. Ementher, Blumfield ; and Wm. J. Deindorfer.
1856-H. Krause, E. Saginaw ; Peter H. Krogman, Saginaw; and H. Stoeltz- rider, jr., and J. Baesche.
1857-John Weiss, Saginaw ; and A. Heine, Bay City.
1859-August Fuehr and .J. C. Ziegler, Saginaw ; and August Zoelner.
ORGANIZATION OF THE PIONEERS.
A meeting of Germans was held at the Teutonia Hall, Saginaw City, May 26, 1881, for the purpose of organizing a Pioneer Soci- ety. The meeting was formally organized by the appointment of L. Bloedon as president and F. Dieckman, secretary. The resolu- tion to organize was made by Ernst Franck, when the chairman appointed Messrs. Liskow, Haack, Nerreter, Barck and Spaeth, a committee on permanent organization. Dr. M. C. T. Plessner, of Saginaw City, was nominated for the presidency of the society and elected unanimously. His inaugural address, delivered on the occasion, is full and historically valnable, and on that account deserves notice in these pages. He said:
"It is my duty and my pleasure to bid you welcome in this meeting of the old and tried pioneers of the Saginaw Valley; it is refreshing to see again the faces of those who fought with us in the battle with the elements and with the forest, many years ago; to look into the eyes of those steadfast men who assisted to change the primeval forest into smiling fields and fruitful gardens; the lit- tle log houses and shanties of the wilderness into flourishing cities and villages; who helped to evoke order and civilized life from chaos and the rough life and manners of the frontier.
"Such meetings as ours are not only desirable, but of great ben- efit to all participants. Time is fleeting fast, and the eyes of many of those who had their share in the developments of this country are already closed; many more have passed the middle age, and are on the downward path, soon to be ended in the grave. If the memory of small beginnings and hard struggles is not to be en- tirely lost, the recollections of the pioneers must be collected and sifted; our posterity will take an interest in them, no doubt-may- be they will be benefited by them.
" The duty to welcome you here is the more pleasant to me, as all the men here are acquaintances of mine from 'auld lang syne.' Some of them I have been happy to call my friends during a quarter of a century, and not a few during my life-time. Allow me, as a basis for our labor communications, to lay before you a sketch of the history of this Saginaw Valley, and principally of the German settlement in the same. This is not based on documents, which are not accessible to me, but mostly on personal recollections. It may abound in errors and inaccuracies, which no one better than yourselves can detect and correct, but I give my promise that noth- ing will be said in hatred, malice, or even in prejudice, if it can be
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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.
avoided. Old age makes men tolerant, even if in no other way it mproves them.
" The Saginaw Valley is a portion of the northeastern quarter of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is bounded on the south by the hilly watershed between Flint and Holly; on the west by the watershed between the rivers tributary to the Saginaw and Grand rivers; on the north by the watershed of the Sable river; and on the east by Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. It is a very flat country, only a few low hills in it, that were formerly covered with heavy prinieval forests. The valley is very much intersected by many rivers, the Saginaw being the largest. This river is only 18 miles in length, short but wide, having at Bay City a width of 1,000 feet., The depth averages from eight to nine feet, and its current is gen- erally sluggish. Its tributaries are the Cass, Flint, Shiawassee and Tittabawassee, coming from the four points of the compass. All of them are navigable for small vessels, although their navi- gation is very much neglected; their obstructions not removed, yet their almost innumerable sources, such as the Pine, Tobacco and many other such smaller streams are in the spring exclusively used in floating down logs from the lumber camps near them. A pe- culiar feature of this region is that the lakes and lakelets, so abundant north and south of us, are here entirely missing. Sag- inaw Valley has undoubtedly been the bottom of a great lake. Its soil is 80 to 100 feet above the rocks and boulders; on top of this is rich, alluvial black loam, varying in depth from six to eight inches; the hills are mostly covered with sand. The forests con- sisted of pines on the hills and hemlock, oak, beech, maple, elm and ash on the plains. There is comparatively little prairie in the valley, and that is very low. It is well known that the land con- tains very large reservoirs of salt brine, the making of salt being one of our great industries. Coal has been found in some parts of the valley, but so far has not proved profitable. Metals have not yet been found. Limestone and gypsum are abundant in some parts of the valley. The Indians roamed free and undisturbed in Saginaw county until half a century ago.
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