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In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville described the Saginaw Valley as the far west of our growing nation, predicting that its impenetrable forests would soon be felled, and its river would be lined with quays and filled with vessels. Influential settlers soon began to confirm those predictions, including the Trombleys, who arrived in 1831 and built the Trombley House in 1837. Albert Miller platted Portsmouth in 1836and Lower Saginaw, now known as Bay City, was platted the same year. Throughout the 20th century, majestic buildings were erected, schools, homes, and churches were established, and Bay City developed into a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family.
Throughout its history, the Bay City area has been a fascinating place to explore. Its early 20th century role as a lumber and shipping center helped it develop into a charming place to live, work, and raise a family. While thriving industry contributed to the development of Bay City itself, neighboring communities like Auburn, Essexville, Kawkawlin, Linwood, and Pinconning were developing into smaller agricultural and residential villages. This book, a companion to Bay City: 1900-1940 in Vintage Postcards, uses archival postcards to document the progress and growth that have taken place in Bay City and its surroundings. Bay City and Beyond takes readers on a captivating tour of the streets, businesses, schools, homes, people, and events that have shaped the Bay City area as it is known today.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Bay City was the third biggest city in Michigan, after Detroit and Grand Rapids. Lumber and sawmills were a big part of that success. The wealth amassed by its lumber barons built a vibrant downtown and mansions along its main streets. Add industry, shipping, sugar beets, schools, and churches to the mix, and you have the pictures in this book. These postcards show you how Bay City looked at its peak in the very early 1900s until about 1940-a time when people were glad they had reached their destinations and happy to send a postcard when they arrived.
In Legendary locals of Marana, Oro Valley, and Catalina, readers will discover the historical riches, courage, and determination of the western spirit that shaped the state and the country.
Since the 1830s when the first hints of permanent settlement appeared on the banks near the mouth of the Saginaw River, the river and bay have supported the busy traffic of a major Great Lakes seaport, the humming saws of hundreds of lumber mills, the waves caused by countless vessel launches, and the many other sounds, sights, and smells indicative of industry and innovation. Bay City and West Bay City became major players in the lumbering, shipping, and shipbuilding industries on the Great Lakes from the mid-1800s into the 19th century. Indeed, innovation and perseverance have been the keys to Bay Countys world-class maritime industry and culture that are still apparent today.
Who would have thought a city would one day stand where there was nothing but swamp, with long grass--where there was scarcely an opening in the woods, and in which the wolves made plenty of howling. This observation was made by Leon Trombley, one of the first to try to settle in this part of the Michigan "frontier" in the early 1800s. His nephews, Mader and Joseph, would soon follow and ultimately become noted among the area's first permanent residents. The residents of Bay City have always aspired to be legendary, whether by design, accident, or sheer determination. Annie Edson Taylor, the area schoolteacher turned daredevil who would ride her Bay City-built barrel over Niagara Falls (and survive!), is only one among a large group of local legends that includes Olympic champions, community leaders, artists, musicians, scholars, philosophers, and historians.
When the phrase "Do you remember?" is uttered in Bay City, it is usually followed by the name of a hotel, restaurant, business, or building. Slowly, many parts of local history have been lost to the sands of time. Fire took many, followed by condemnations and the inevitable advance of progress. An empty lot may be all that remains of a once-prominent structure, but sometimes a new landmark emerges. In the case of one famous address at Center and Water Streets, the Wenonah Hotel rose out of the ashes of the Fraser House, another prominent facade. Seven decades later, the Wenonah, too, succumbed to fire; out of those ashes rose the Delta College Planetarium, a third-generation landmark. Photographs help residents remember, though each person who experienced something firsthand has his or her own distinct connection with these pieces of lost Bay City.
What happens when time yellowed photographs, discovered in the wall of a ramshackle Victorian charmer, begin talking to you? Would You listen? The fading snapshots were historic treasure that launched a 12 year journey into the past. The Victorian secrets of a trio of sea captain's families, were lost behind that wall, shackled by time for generations. What were the chances of learning the names of the four children captured by the cameras lens, so many decades earlier? What was the likelihood of anyone in the photographs still being alive? And, if so, what were the odds of tracking down any of the nameless faces hidden until now, behind that wall? There are answers to these questions, caught a literal heartbeat before they slipped out of reach, forever. It is real life as it happened, both then and now. (57-Vintage Photographs)