Typical Saginaw Valley House 2007

 

This is my home today. The 1908 building is the right hand side of the structure shown in the 1908 picture. This home is about 2600 sq. feet due to the walkout basement on the left hand side of the picture. It is five minutes from the same Millington that was an hour away in 1908. Of course, it has television, added in 1953, radio added in the 1930's, indoor plumbing, 1952, hot water heat, added 1952, running water, added 1937, electricity, added in 1937, an electric stove in the kitchen, added in 1951, a computer, added in 1998, and a wireless network, added in 2005. And other changes too numerous to mention.

Rural Housing in the Saginaw Valley in 1908

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Saginaw Valley Housing

This is the house my Great Grandfather bought in 1910. It had just been built in this picture which I think was taken about 1908 when the house was built. This home was bigger than average for houses in the area at the time. It was about 800 square feet. Notice that the idea of mowing a lawn had not caught on yet..It would not for almost 40 more years. Wood ruled the day still. There was wood heat for cooking and home heating. Bathroom facilities were outside and would be for forty more years. Light was kerosene and would be for thirty more years. The closest town was Millington which was an hour away by buggy. Life was changing quickly. I live in an expanded version of this house today.

FlintHistory.com -

Factories in the Mechanical Age

 

FlintHistory.com -

This is how so many in the Saginaw Valley made a living in the mid twentyth century. This video is from 1936 but the core of the method was the same when I entered an assembly plant in 1973. With each year, there was fewer people working and more automation. By the end of my time (2001) at least half of these people would be gone from their stations and the work done by machinery.

Flint's Great Sit-Down Strike and the Union Movement in the Saginaw Valley

 

Flint History-

This video represents the union movement in the Saginaw Valley. It also tells the story of women in the labor movement. Comments of the women who took part tell much about the lives of factory workers in the 1930's .

Technorati Tags: Sit-down Strike,GM,Ruther,Flint,Michigan,Saginaw Valley,Women's Movement,Solidarity Forever

View in 2007 from the top of the Pere Marquette Tower

This is a 360 degree view from the top of the Pere Marquette station on Fourth and Madison in Bay City, Michigan

Pere Marquette Depot Roof - Bay City

This is history being made.   In a few years, historians will spend time reviewing this file to see just what strange methods were used way back when.  

 

This building and its architectural details are a perfect symbol for the new purpose of downtown Bay City.

Pere Marquette Depot Roof - Bay City

Directory of FREE Online Books and FREE e-books

 

Directory of FREE Online Books and FREE e-books

 

This source contains thousands of books..Many can be downloaded in a PDF format.  This is the source of the book listing Great Lakes Captains. 

Canals from Lake Erie to the sea

Technorati Tags: Lake Erie,Great Lakes,Great Lakes Canals,Great Lakes Shipping

http://ia310131.us.archive.org/2/items/dirctoryofnames00unknuoft/dirctoryofnames00unknuoft.pdf

Screen clipping taken: 12/7/2007, 8:38 AM

Bay City Ship Captains in 1914

 

NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF MEMBERS, SHIP
MASTERS ASSOCIATION

Pennant	Lodge	Name	Address	City
1241	2	Canartney, M.	715 Franklin Ave.,	Bay City, Mich.
252	3	Chron, Thos.	223 Adams,	Bay City, Mich.
641	2	Harper, Geo.	1509 Marquette Ave.,	W. Bay City, Mich.
1081	7	Johnson, Alex.	1009 9th St.,	Bay City, Mich.
2284	2	Myers, Geo. F.	1910 2nd St.,	Bay City, Mich.
560	2	Thrap, W. H.	305 N. Henry St., Sta. A.,	West Bay City, Mich
2349	1	Williams, John E.	423 Jefferson Ave.,	Bay City, Mich.

Canals Between Lake Erie and the Sea

This map is from the Ship Masters Book 1914

Free Books > Tags > History

Bay City  Ship Captains and their Vessels

Free Books > Tags > History

A directory of names, pennant numbers, and addresses of all numbers of the Ship Masters' Association of the Great Lakes. Also a list of vessels of the Great Lakes, American and Canadian, with names and addresses of owners. O37131043609817ther information of a miscellaneous nature of interest in shipping circles on the Great Lakes

 

The link above is for further study of the captains and ships that sailed the lakes.

Eighty Years And More; Reminiscences 1815-1897 by Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Full Text Free Book (Part 2/7)

 

James G. Birney, the anti-slavery
nominee for the presidency of the United States, joined us in New York,
and was a fellow-passenger on the Montreal for England. He and my
husband were delegates to the World's Anti-slavery Convention, and both
interested themselves in my anti-slavery education. They gave me books
to read, and, as we paced the deck day by day, the question was the
chief theme of our conversation.
Mr. Birney was a polished gentleman of the old school, and was
excessively proper and punctilious in manner and conversation. I soon
perceived that he thought I needed considerable toning down before
reaching England. I was quick to see and understand that his criticisms
of others in a general way and the drift of his discourses on manners
and conversation had a nearer application than he intended I should
discover, though he hoped I would profit by them. I was always grateful
to anyone who took an interest in my improvement, so I laughingly told
him, one day, that he need not make his criticisms any longer in that
roundabout way, but might take me squarely in hand and polish me up as
speedily as possible. Sitting in the saloon at night after a game of
chess, in which, perchance, I had been the victor, I felt complacent
and would sometimes say:
"Well, what have I said or done to-day open to criticism?"
So, in the most gracious manner, he replied on one occasion:
"You went to the masthead in a chair, which I think very unladylike. I
heard you call your husband 'Henry' in the presence of strangers, which
is not permissible in polite society. You should always say 'Mr.
Stanton.' You have taken three moves back in this game."
"Bless me!" I replied, "what a catalogue in one day! I fear my Mentor
will despair of my ultimate perfection."
"I should have more hope," he replied, "if you seemed to feel my rebukes
more deeply, but you evidently think them of too little consequence to
be much disturbed by them."
As he found even more fault with my husband, we condoled with each other
and decided that our friend was rather hypercritical and that we were as
nearly perfect as mortals need be for the wear and tear of ordinary
life. Being both endowed with a good degree of self-esteem, neither the
praise nor the blame of mankind was overpowering to either of us. As the
voyage lasted eighteen days--for we were on a sailing vessel--we had
time to make some improvement, or, at least, to consider all friendly
suggestions.

Eighty Years And More; Reminiscences 1815-1897 by Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Full Text Free Book (Part 2/7)

 

I was quite happy to find this link again.  I came to speak of this relationship often but wasn't quite sure where it came from.  This link gives a more definite source.

Technorati Tags: Elizabeth Cady Stanton,Women's Sufferage,James G. Birney

Ghosts and Legends Tour on Saturday, Oct.27

Halloween Ghosts and Legends Tour

The Bay County Historical Society sponsors trolley tours that leave the Antigue Center on Water Street every Saturday at 2pm in the warmer months. This last Saturday they had a Ghosts and Legends Tour that went to Pine Ridge Cemetery and to Elm Lawn.

These cemeteries are the resting place for people like James Birney, son of the great abolitionist, Andrew Walton, a member of Berdan's Sharpshooters, Charles Newkirk, an early Michigan Doctor and George Wellman, a deputy US marshall killed in the line of duty in the Johnson County Range War.

This tour continues to be very popular.

USS Liberty - a reality snapshot

This is one of the most revealing videos an American could ever see. It describes the actions of the federal government in dealing with the 34 deaths on the USS Liberty in 1967. It leaves me with the opinion that we will never be told for sure what happened that day. I find it very difficult to believe that the attack was an accident. As an ex-navy officer, I know that surveillance ships look like nothing else and that navy customs and procedures in the sixties would have made it very unlikely that the Liberty had no flag either on the jack staff or on the mast.

I originally got interested in the Liberty because of the plaque found by the naval gun at Elm Lawn Cemetery in Bay City.  I have yet to learn of the city's connection to this ship and if it is closer than that we all have as American citizens.

Tags: USS Liberty, six day war, Israel, Nasser, Egypt,

Tags: McNamera

StumbleVideo - AssumeThePosition.mpg

StumbleVideo - AssumeThePosition.mpg

This video is one of the best presentations I have seen. The presentor does and says things that I would never dare say but his methods including the graphics and ideas are unbeatable. He would get his point across.. He would also get a great rating.. Finally, he would have to have great energy, creativity and would earn the rating.

New Methods of Photography

New system makes any digital camera take multibillion-pixel shots from PhysOrg.com

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with scientists at NASA’s Ames Research Center, have built a low-cost robotic device that enables any digital camera to produce breathtaking gigapixel (billions of pixels) panoramas, called GigaPans.

[...]

Gigapan cameras and Historical Records

Imagine a day when historians can walk around in pictures of settings that time has removed from reality. Imagine an ability to look at the smallest screw in that picture. The ability to make those photos seems to be upon us.

North American Trade Union

Have you heard of the North American Union? How about the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America or SPP? If you have not, you are like me. Even though I read newspapers all the time and follow the national news, I hadn't heard of our federal government's work to combine this country with Canada and Mexico in several key areas. Border security would concentrate on Mexico's southern boundary and the coast line frontiers of the USA and Canada. Trade and executive orders on product safety and transportation would be subject to review by officials of the new union. There would be a new court that would be superior to the Supreme Court of the United States when dealing with decisions on matters of this type.

The SPP ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_and_Prosperity_Partnership_of_North_America )was set up after the meeting in Waco in 2005 where President Bush, President Fox of Mexico and Prime Minister Martin of Canada decided to pursue this idea.

Robert Pastor, one of SPP's vice-chairmen, has advocated a monetary union and has suggested that North America's common currency might be called the "amero", which would be similar in concept to the EU's euro.

All this is to take place before 2010 with no discussion by Congress so far. American citizens generally have no knowledge of this program and have been given no chance to form an opinion of it. What do you think.

Team finds possible mastodon carving on Lake Michigan rock

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — They aren't certain, but underwater archaeologists say they may have discovered a boulder with a prehistoric carving in Lake Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay.

The granite rock has markings that resemble a mastodon — an elephant-like creature that once inhabited parts of North America — with what could be a spear in its side, say divers who have seen it.

They came across the boulder at a depth of about 40 feet while searching for shipwrecks in June, said Mark Holley, a scientist with the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve Council.

Bay City has been greatly affected by the level of the lakes and by the advance and retreat of the glaciers over the last several thousand years.  This possible mastodon carving would show knowledge of the animal further north than before.  It also would relate to lake levels in that area. 

Link

Tags: Great Lakes, Traverse City, Mastodon, Bay City, Petroglyphs

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Dolores Vallecita had performed at Luna Park in New York

Luna featured a number of shows, some free and some not. China's Fairy Fountains featured magic acts, monkeys were the orchestra at the Monkey Hippodrome, and the Helkvist's, a brother and sister act, dove into a small tank of water set ablaze, Performing animal acts included Mademoiselle Berzac's dancing ponies and Mademoiselle Dolores Vallecita's ferocious leopards.

link

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Death Comes to Leopard Trainer

Mrs. Dolly Hill succumbs Monday Night to Injuries Received Friday(Bay City Times-Tribune Tuesday, January 13, 1925 page 1)

After making a desperate struggle to cling to life since last Friday morning, death care to Mrs. Dolly Hill of new York City at Mercy hospital Monday evening at 11:55 as a result of injuriesreceived when she was attacked by a jungle loepard she was training in a downtiown building in which she had established winter training quarters. Her husband was with her when the end came.

Mrs. Hill, known in the circus as Dora Valiceda, had trained animals for over a quarter of a century and is said to have travelled through almost every country in the world. She was attacked by one of her animals in California several years ago. The leopard which made the attack on her last Friday was recently added to the five she has had there since last fall.

Mrs. Hill was in the large steel arena in the building when attacked. Another leopard in a smaller cage on one side of the arena was causing a disturbance and when Mrs. Hill momentarily turned her attention to quiet it, the animal sprang at her, clutching her around the throat and knocking her to the floor.

Her screams attracted Herber Craig of this city who had been employed by the woman. He unlocked the door of the arena and with the aid of a large, iron bar beat off the animal and was able to remove Mrs. Hill from the cage. Before he could notify police, he fainted. Mrs. Hill, in a serious condition, due to a loss of blood, was taken to Mercy Hospital in the police ambulance. Her arms, neck and back were injuried by the animal and her windpipe was punctured.

May 24, 1986 oral History - John C. Meagher to Sue M. David. said

Old City Hall Building

Elizabeth VandenBrooks Meagher "bought" the Saginaw Street building (part of the Andrew's estate) with her inheritance share.  It had formerly housed the City Council Chamber-City Hall.

Once W.J. Meager had rented it to someone who had kept wild animals there. 

Tags: Bay City, bay city michigan, saginaw street, old city hall, dora valiceda, Dolores Vallecita, leopard

Centennial Book

 
 

Inserted from: <file://C:\Documents and Settings\Welsh\My Documents\My Scans\History\Centennial Book.pdf>

Annie Edson Taylor

Changing Culture

I am amazed at the fidelity of the pictures that I now see when I watch a DVD on this computer. I recently viewed Merchant of Venice. The pictures were beautiful.

Saw Mill in Action

Sash Saw at Work

This mill is typical of thoses used in the very early days in Bay City approximately (1840-60). They would have been much too slow by the 1870's.

Life Ring May Be From Edmund Fitzgerald

 apple farmer and his family believe they've found a life ring from the Edmund Fitzgerald roughly 200 miles from where the famed ship sank in Lake Superior 32 years ago.

"I saw it, photographed it and ... compared the two," said Tom Farnquist, executive director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society. "It's identical in size and configuration. ... Is it possible? Certainly it is."

Joe Rasch said he was vacationing with his family last week in the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's far north. Hunting for rocks along a remote beach, he found the preserver near an overturned tree. His daughters noticed the writing, and realizing its potential significance, they took it to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, owned by the historical society.

Rasch said the ring was not laying in full view and that the area was remote. He said he and Farnquist agreed Rasch would hang on to the ring and bring it to the museum for its annual memorial service marking the anniversary of the sinking.

"Of the 6,000 ships ... lost on the Great Lakes, the Fitzgerald is the Holy Grail of all the shipwrecks," Farnquist said.

Link

The Wreck Of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Summertime Dream) 6:28
	The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee' The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty. That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early. The ship was the pride of the American side Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most With a crew and good captain well seasoned Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms When they left fully loaded for Cleveland And later that night when the ship's bell rang Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'? The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound And a wave broke over the railing And every man knew, as the captain did too, T'was the witch of November come stealin'. The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait When the Gales of November came slashin'. When afternoon came it was freezin' rain In the face of a hurricane west wind. When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'. Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya. At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said Fellas, it's been good t'know ya The captain wired in he had water comin' in And the good ship and crew was in peril. And later that night when his lights went outta sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Does any one know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her. They might have split up or they might have capsized; May have broke deep and took water. And all that remains is the faces and the names Of the wives and the sons and the daughters. Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings In the rooms of her ice-water mansion. Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams; The islands and bays are for sportsmen. And farther below Lake Ontario Takes in what Lake Erie can send her, And the iron boats go as the mariners all know With the Gales of November remembered. In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed, In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral. The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald. The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'. Superior, they said, never gives up her dead When the gales of November come early!

	You are at: Home - Albums - Summertime Dream - The Wreck Of ..

Tags: Edmund Fitzgerald, Great Lakes, Ship Wreak, Gordon Lightfoot

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EXPLOSION OF DYNAMITE KILLS TWO SWITCHMEN Car Containing' Powder and Shells Blows up in Railroad Yards inMichigan.

BAY CITY, Mich.. Sept. 13.—Clarence D. Hopper and Roy Boucher, switchmen of the Michigan Central Railway, were killed to-day by an explosion of dynamite In a car In the yards at West Bay City. Robert Roblln, engineer, William Noble, fireman, and John C. Cradle, contractor, were Injured, the latter so severely that he may die. All of the trainmen were residents of this city.

The explosion occurred as a'switch engine was making up a train. The engine backed down upon several cars, the first containing 1000 pounds of dynamite, .a consignment of Lee-Metford rifles and a practice, and it is said that the force with which it struck the explosive laden car exploded the dynamite. Another report has it that one of the shells exploded and set off the dynamite. Hopper's body was badly mangled. A big hole was torn in the ground by the explosion, a score of freight cars demolished and  nearly 300 houses In the vicinity suffered, broken windows. Several houses were so badly wrecked as to . be uninhabitable. The
shock wave felt three miles from the scene.

I hadn't heard of this disaster.  The Bay City papers were no doubt filled wirh information on this topic.  The article above is from the San Francisco Call  Sept 14, 1903

Link to Article

Tags: Dynamite, Railroad Disasters, Bay City

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Sinking of the City of Venice

Link to Article

The Library of Congress has put ten years output of its newpaper project online.  This is the beginning of a new era in history research as you can see from this link.  I did a search on the the terms 'bay city michigan'  This article on the City of Venice came up.  It was printed in the Suburban Citizen, a paper that researchers would never see locally. 

Tags: Bay City, City of Venice, Great Lakes shipping, Ship collision, Lake Erie

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Bay City Theaters

Bay City Theaters

The Bay County Historical Society Museum Library has information on Bay City theaters. This video does  a great job of putting some of that together. 

Tags: Theaters, Bay City, State Theater, Michigan

New Theory Claims Comet Killed Large Mammals in North America about 13000 Years Ago

May 30, 2007 — A large extraterrestrial object exploded over the heads of the first Americans about 13,000 years ago, wiping them out and making big mammals and other prehistoric creatures disappear, according to a new U.S. study.

Presented last week at the American Geophysical Union meeting in Acapulco, Mexico, the controversial research proposes that the extraterrestrial blast triggered a catastrophic millennium-long cold spell.

The dramatic climate change would have been the major cause for the sudden disappearance of mammoths throughout much of Europe and America and the demise of the Clovis people, the New World's most sophisticated hunters.

"The impact occurred precisely when the megafauna suddenly disappeared from North America. The Earth, which was warming from the last ice age, was plunged suddenly into a 1,000-year period of cooling known as the Younger Dryas," nuclear scientist Richard Firestone of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in California, told Discovery News.

The article claims that the impact might have been just north of the Great lakes.  At any rate, if true, it affected all life in the Bay City area as well as most of North America. 

Tags: Clovis People, Comet, Laurentian Shield, Mammoth, Crater

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Abolitionists and Women's Rights

Bay City was never more central to the national stage than when James Birney, its' most promenent citizen, ran for President as a third party candidate. Although, he was older than most of the participants of the early women's movement and the movement to free the slaves, he know many of them and influenced how these movements were conducted. The link above will give more information on some of the people he knew.

Tags: Birney, James Birney, Abolitionists, Woman's Rights, Bay City, Michigan

The First Ghosts up Close Walk

You may not know that I work on the Bay County Historical Society's Trolley committee. We create and present different tours about various parts of the city:

 

East Lumber Boom Town(2pm on scheduled Saturdays)	goes through downtown Bay City and then gives riders the chance to see many of the lumbermen's homes up and down Center
The South End(2pm on scheduled Saturdays)	focuses on Portsmouth with its' heavy Polish, Irish, German background and the unique neighborhoods
The Westside(2pm on scheduled Saturdays)	highlights the homes and businesses in old West Bay City
Cemetery Tour(2pm on scheduled Saturdays)	Visits Potters Field (the first cemetery), Pine Ridge and Elm Lawn Cemetery pointing out individuals, customs, cemetery art and end-of-life traditions in Bay City.
Ghosts and Legends(2pm on scheduled Saturdays)	Retells the tales of Joe Fournier and Steve Madjai, lumberjacks and bad men of other eras. Lets travelers in on ghostly experiences of some local people and fills in the folklore of the city.
Ghosts up Close(at 4PM the first Saturday of the summer months-weather permitting)	Our first walking tour of downtown Bay City. Hell's Half Mile roars again as we talk about blind pigs, pretty waiter girls and the characters who walked Water Street. We walk in the very spots where murders took place and where some have experienced ghostly apparitions

 

The Trolley leaves from the Antique Center on Water Street every Saturday at 2PM for the hour and one half tour.

 

Well, as I mentioned, the first Ghosts up Close tour took place last Saturday, I conducted it as we talked about Dr. Walterhouse and the Bay City Hospital. We passed the old Pere Marquette station where so much had taken place. We stood in the spot where Floyd Ackerman's killer had walked and searched the horizon for Skull Island. A good time was had by all.

Tags: Bay City, BCHS, Trolley Tours, Ghosts, Joe Fournier, Paul Bunyan, Folklore, legends, elm lawn, pine ridge, birney, james birney, Henry Sage, cemetery art

A Visit to my old friend, Amanda Lashbbrooks

Today was very hot but I had been concerned about the state of Amanda Lashbbrooks.

Amanda gives me pause to think from time to time. You see I only know her because of a message she left

So long ago.

 

Amanda is buried about thirty paces south south-west of the old cannon in Pine Ridge. I first found her there about

four years ago. She has given me a reason to think about her life and my own several times since. Amanda's tombstone has a special note ,you see.

 

Sacred to the Memory of

Amanda

Wife of Edwin Lashbbrooks

Born June 25, 1851 Died Sept 9, 1875

As you are now I once was

As I am now so must you be

Prepare for death and follow me

 

 

 

Newest Cemetery Memorial Gun

Tags: WWII, Elm Lawn Cemetery, Bay City, Bay City Michigan, Artillery, Naval Gun
In recent weeks, I have written about the eight pieces of artillery that have graced various parks, buildings and cemeteries in Bay City. We found out about the two naval guns from the USS Portsmouth that had been in Pershing(Sage) Park. We noted the two mortars form Fort Sumpter that were in Battery Park and the two Columbiads from the USS Hartford that were there too. With the two Parrott guns that were on the Washington Street corners of City Hall, we had eight.

The gun in the picture is from a later conflict. It is from WWII. General Motors made it. After active service, it was located at a local VFW post for a time. Then, it was sent to its present location in Elm Lawn. When time allows, read the interesting inscription by this piece.

Finding a lost Bay City Mayor-George H. Van Etten

Episcopal Report of 1893 mentions death of George H. Van Etten Land Records

 Mayors

Bay City Mayors

George H. Van Etten, who was very well know in Bay City for many achievements including his term as mayor had just disappeared.  Thanks to the internet and knowledge of where some of our lumbermen had gone, I found someone with the same name in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Great, now, how do I know it is the same person.  Alan Flood managed to find an article linked below that connected the two locations perfectly.  It was an answer to a local historian's prayer.  Here are some of the facts we now know.

1. 
   
   George H. Van Etten Bay City Mayor 1871-1873, his son Arthur Vam Etten marries at Little Rock, Arkanssa June 1892(article July 1, 1892 Times Press )
   
   


2. 
   
   As of 1892 he is one of the most prominent cypress lumberman in the South 
   
   


3. 
   
   Resident of Little Rock, Ark, as of 1892
   
   


4. 
   
   George H. Van Etten is mentionned on page 83 of the History and Commercial Advantages and Future Prospects of Bay City, Michigan.
   
   


5. 
   
   Land George H. Van Etten Held is under land records link
   
   


6. 
   
   Pinconning__Township was created by act of the Legislature approved February 28, 1873, in conjunction with Deep River and Standish townships, which with Arenac then belonged to Bay County, but have since been erected into separate county organization. Originally Pinconning consisted of township 17 North, ranges 3, 4, and 5 east. The first town meeting was held at the warehouse of Kaiser & VanEtten, on the first Monday in April, 1873.
   
   


7. 
   
   In 1873 Kaiser & VanEtten laid out the village of Pinconning, and the place has prospered until 1905 it is the leading village outside of Essexville, which latter is really but a suburb of Bay City.
   
   


8. 
   
   
   Pinconning Village__”Pinconning: Change cars for Mount Forest, Bentley and Gladwin.” Such is the stentorian announcement of the pleasant-faced conductor on the “Mackanaw Flyer” of the Michigan Central, as the train pulls into the pretty village on the Pinconning River. We are 18 miles from Bay City. The trunk line to the Straits of Mackinac runs due north, the Gladwyn Branch almost due west to Mount Forest, and then northwest-ward to the county seat of Gladwin County. As the township to the north of Bay City are being settled, the importance of Pinconning as a trading center naturally increases.
   

           The village dates from 1872, when Frederick A. Kaiser and George H. Van Etten built and operated the first sawmill there. They built a unique railroad of 3 by 5 maple rails for 18 miles into a timber belt that gave 140,000,000 feet of lumber. They platted 100 acres on both sides of the railway; the streets running north and south were named: Waters, Warren, Kaiser, Manitou and Van Etten, while those running east and west were numbered from one to six. With the later additions, these are the streets of the village to-day. A large general store was started by the firm, and a post office established.

   
   
   
   


9. 
   
   
   

   Little Rock Power and Light

   
   
   
   


10. 
    
    
    

    Episcopal Church of Arkansas

    
    
    
    


11. 
    
    
    

    Episcopal Report of 1893 mentions death of George H. Van Etten

    
    
    
    


12. 
    
    
    

    Gannser writes about Van Etten

    
    
    
    


13. 
    
    
    

    Possible connection with salt industry

    
    
    
    


14. 
    
    
    

    Ladies Building Association

    
    

    
    

    Tags: George H. Van Etten, Bay City, Pinconning, Little Rock, Episcopal Church Little Rock, Little Rock Power and Light

    
    
    
    

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Bay City Dragline at work in Everglades

http://fpc.dos.state.fl.us/prints/edd095.jpg

Bay City has a long connection excavation and hoisting some of the heaviest loads known to man.  Here is a Bay City shovel working to make the Everglades what we see today.

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Tags: Everglades, Bay City Shovel, Bay City, shovel

Congressman Loud to Dedicate Battery Park Cannon

Cass City Chronicle Article June 14,1907

Big G. A. R. Parade at Bay City.

Bay City, Mich., June l:2.--~Mayor Heine opened the G. A. R. state co,nvention
Tuesday morning with an address of welcome, which was responded to by Department Commander Griswold.The big campfire was heId last night in Washington theater. Commander-in-chief Robert Burns Brown.ZanesviIle, O., was the guest of honbr.
Senators Burrows and Smith were speakers at the campfire. The big parade
was at 1 o'clock Tuesday. After this the two big guns from Admiral Farragut's flagship, Hartford, secured for Bay City by Congressman Loud, were dedicated in Battery Park.
Congressman Loud Will deliver an address.

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Cannon in Pershing Park at Sage Library?

The Bay City Tribune - Friday, June 21, 1907.

GUNS FOR SAGE LIBRARY PARK
---------

Congressman Loud Gets Couple From Main Battery of Old U.S. Ship Portsmouth.
---------
Will be Brought to City and Placed in Position as Quickly as Possible.

from Bay-Journal

Not unmindful of the desires of his constituents, Congressman George A. Loud has secured for and will present to Sage Library park, on the westside, two of the main battery guns of the United States ship Portsmouth, one of the historic ships of the old navy.

These are eight-inch guns and possess historic value. When Mr. Loud secured the Hartford guns some years ago the people interested in the Sage Library put in a request for recognition and later when he obtained the Fort Sumter mortars the west side requested that one of them be placed in the Sage park, but the congressman had made the riffle for those guns for the express purpose of getting a battery of four historic guns for Battery Park, and he said he would obtain other guns for the library park. This he has done and they should and undoubtedly will be highly prized by west siders.

These guns for Pershing Park were not previously know to me.  Does anyone remember them?  They apparently came from the USS Portsmouth With the two Parrott Rifles in front of city hall from Fort Sumpter, two Mortars from Fort Sumpter as well, two columbiads from the USS Hartford in Battery Park, we have the eight guns the were removed in 1942. 

The remaining seige gun in Pine Ridge would have made nine guns in the city for almost forty years.  Only one remains now. 

Tags: Columbiad, Parrott Gun, Parrott Rifles, Mortars, Battery Park, Bay City, Congressman Loud , Pershing Park

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Cannon in Pershing Park at Sage Library?

The Bay City Tribune - Friday, June 21, 1907.

GUNS FOR SAGE LIBRARY PARK
---------

Congressman Loud Gets Couple From Main Battery of Old U.S. Ship Portsmouth.
---------
Will be Brought to City and Placed in Position as Quickly as Possible.

from Bay-Journal

Not unmindful of the desires of his constituents, Congressman George A. Loud has secured for and will present to Sage Library park, on the westside, two of the main battery guns of the United States ship Portsmouth, one of the historic ships of the old navy.

These are eight-inch guns and possess historic value. When Mr. Loud secured the Hartford guns some years ago the people interested in the Sage Library put in a request for recognition and later when he obtained the Fort Sumter mortars the west side requested that one of them be placed in the Sage park, but the congressman had made the riffle for those guns for the express purpose of getting a battery of four historic guns for Battery Park, and he said he would obtain other guns for the library park. This he has done and they should and undoubtedly will be highly prized by west siders.

These guns for Pershing Park were not previously know to me.  Does anyone remember them?  They apparently came from the USS Portsmouth With the two Parrott Rifles in front of city hall from Fort Sumpter, two Mortars from Fort Sumpter as well, two columbiads from the USS Hartford in Battery Park, we have the eight guns the were removed in 1942. 

The remaining seige gun in Pine Ridge would have made nine guns in the city for almost forty years.  Only one remains now. 

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The Cost of Wheat in 1800-1860 (Bay City Settled in 1837)

Tags: Wheat, Napolianic Wars, Cost of Living

Link to Cost per Bushel Data

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The cost of wheat was very high at the time Bay City was settled.  While these prices are for England, the cost here would have probably been quite high compared to the $3.00 per bushel we are accostumed to now.

The Cost of Wheat in 1800-1860 (Bay City Settled in 1837)

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p3K4i63z7JJwDk8hS9XOcKA

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The cost of wheat was very high at the time Bay City was settled.  While these prices are for England, the cost here would have probably been quite high compared to the $3.00 per bushel we are accostumed to now.

WHAT'S IN A NAME? Plenty, if you live in Bay City

"WHAT'S IN A NAME? Plenty, if you live in Bay City "

Tim Younkman talks about George McClellan. City planners spelled McClellan's name wrong so the street became and still is McLellan.

There are many other interesting changes in street names in Bay City. Come to the library at the Bay County Historical Museum to find out many more.

Washington Street

Click Link

The main streets of Bay City were often photographed in the late 1800s. Here, you can see the Washington Theater on the corner of Sixth and Washington. The Woods Opera House had been there previously but times had changed.

Farther north, where the old Kresge building now stands. That building was a very close match for the Shearer Brothers block located just east of it.

Then came the Rose building. on the corner of Fifth and Washington. That building has a steel frame that echos the structural elements of Chicago Skyscrapers being built at the same time.

Finally, we have the old Federal building looking very much like City Hall but gone from the scene for many years.

The Bay County Historical Museum has a library where layouts of all these buildings are given. That is one of the many items of interest there.

Pine Ridge Cemetery Cannon

Eight Inch Howitzer in Pine Ridge

 

For over one hundred years, Soldier's Rest in Pine Ridge Cemetery has been
guarded by a cannon from the Civil War Era.  The history of that gun,
where it was used, and how it came to be where it is, has been lost to time
until recently. 

 

Alan Flood, a tireless researcher, gave me a copy of an article from the
Bay City Tribune from Sunday, March 9, 1902.  I quote the
article:

 

          "During his second
term in Congress, the late Hon. R. O. Crump secured from the government a
cannon to be placed in "Soldier's Rest" in the Birney Cemetery, but death
ensued before he fully carried out his intentions.  The work has now been
performed and the following letter sent to the family of the Congressman:

                                                        Bay City, March 7, 1902

 

Shelley C. Crump

West Bay City

 

Dear Sir,

    

    The eight inch howitzer seige gun, belonging to your
father, the late Congressman R. O. Crump and presented to H. P. Merrill and U.
S. Grant Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic of Bay City has been placed
on the burial lot known as "Soldier's Rest" in the Birney Cemetery.

 

    Both posts passed votes of thanks to you at their last
meetings.  We wish to assure you that the vererans of the Civil War fully
appreciate your patriotic thoughtfullbness and will value this gun as a relic
and reminder of the struggle for national honor and existence in which we has
a part as Union Volunteer soldiers.

 

George
Turner,
Chairman.

M.M.
Andrews
Secretary

Joint Committee from the two posts.

Bay City's Civil War Cannons

Bay City's City Hall remains a remarkable building. From the clock tower observation room located just under the area that in former times held the bell, you can see all the way to the Zilwaukee Bridge just outside of Saginaw. Fire watches were held there in the years before modern communications were available in the city and during the dark days of WWII, the skys were scanned for the approach of enemy planes. That was not terribly dangerouse work given the range of German and Japanese bombers at the time.

During the approximately forty years just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, large guns from Fort Sumter and Admiral Farragut's flagship, the Hartford, had stood guard at the corners of City Hall on Washington Street and in Battery Park on Center Ave. City Hall had two thirty pound Parrott Rifles. Battery Park had Columbiads from the Hartford and Mortars from Sumpter. All of these guns were removed at the beginning of WWII to be melted and reused in the effort to win that conflict.

One Civil War gun remains in the city. It is the Eight Inch Howitzer located in Soldier's Rest in Pine Ridge Cemetery. I have tried for several years to find out more about that gun. Common Council proceedings for Feb. 7, 1898 might give a hint of its origin.

Gentlemen--The joint committee from the G>A>R. posts having in charge the procuring of guns from the government to be placed on the grounds of the city hall have arranged to exchange the 8 in. howitzer for another 30-pounder Parrott gun, at a cost only of drayage to and from West Bay City.

This will give the city two fine large cannons to be put in position on the grounds, when graded

The war Department at Washington has advised us that the ordinance officer has been directed to issue to us also, one 3 in wrought iron gun==a field piece -- which can be had at the cost only of freight and drayage; and this will not to exceed $10 probably.

The gun is a war relic which in a few years cannot be obtainable and the opportunity to get it, we think, should not be lost.

I have to wonder where the eight inch gun was displayed and if it ended up as our Pine Ridge gun.

Steven Johnson on TED Talks

Steven Johnson on TED Talks: "Author Steven Johnson takes us on a 10-minute tour of The Ghost Map, telling the story of a cholera outbreak in 1854 London, and the famous map that physician John Snow made of the disease's path - a map that not only convinced the world that cholera was a waterborne illness, but ultimately brought about profound changes in science, cities and modern society."

Cholera visited early Bay City and Michigan. This talk gives an overview of public health in the greatest city on Earth in the 1850's. Bay City was highly affected by these views of public health.

James G. Birney and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in England

Books.live.com came up with another gem. The link tells the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the great sufferatette, and James G. Birney on their trip to England in about 1840. The books says that Birney was a man of very conservative manners and that he spent a good deal of time on the voyage training the young Stanton in how to be a proper lady. In doing that, he had a hand in yet another great cause, the cause of women's rights in America.

Bay County Map from Mel

The Michigan Electronic Library exchange has excellant maps of the Bay City/Bay County area. Click the link above to access one dealing with the county.

Bay County Atlas

BAY COUNTY. Bay county was laid out in 1831 and was at that time called Arenac. In 1857 it was organized and took the name of Bay, because of its location on the,:bay of Saginaw. The total land area of the county is 284,626.69 acres, of whic h-about 215,000 acres are in good.farms. Bay county is located in the eastern part of the Lower Peninsula and is bounded entirely on the east by Saginaw bay. Itfhas a population of 68,238 (1910 census). In 1911, the state board of tax commissioners., placed the value of taxable land throughout the county at $39,331,544. There are a total of 93 schools, with an enrollment of 12,085 children, requiring 322 teachers. " "The county has 17-banks, 8 newspapers, telegraph, telephone and rural route service. Bay City is the county seat and has a: population of 45,166 (U. S. census 1910). i It is a natural railroad, deep water and manufacturing center, and occupies an Sideal location at a point 'where the Saginaw river flows into Saginaw bay, and is surrounded by a rich and productive farming section. It is a little more than 100 miles north of Detroit, the chief city of the state. It has nearly 200 miles of streets; 35 miles of paving, over:100 miles of sewers, 25 miles of-electric. street railway, 50 miles of gas -mains, 10 public parks covering 35 acres and -valued at. - $600,000, a water works plant valued at $1,000,000, 100 miles of water mains, a $147,000 municipal electric lighting plant, a fire department comprising ten station -t houses, a police department, 18 public school buildings;::19 parochial schools, public Slibrary, theaters, 3 hospitals,- first-class hotels, 8 banks, a $300,000 city hall, State S...... armory,: an.$80,000 Y. M. C. A. building, a $200,000W:postoffice and beau-tiful churches = ~. of nearly every denomination. There are two daily and three weekly newspapers j.. published in Bay City.:In 1860, the inexhaustible salt basin that underlies this section was tapped, the wsuccess of which resulted in the manufacture of salt,, which has since developed into immense proportions: The first beet sugar plant to be erected in the state was built in Bay City in 1898. Since then other.large and modern beet sugar plants have been put into operation. The beet sugar industry has proved to be a large factor in the success of this locality as a manufacturing community. Close to the limits of the city are coal mines, with a large annual.output, which are now supplying some of the railroads and many manufacturing plants. The fishing on Saginaw Abay gives employment to a large number of people. Pickerel, bass, white-fish, perch, catfish, sturgeon and other fish are caught. The city's industries include saw-mills, sash and door factories, largest plant in the United States for making wooden pipe, large woodenware factory,, veneer works, hardwood flooring mill, large Portland cement plant, railroad locomotive wrecking crane works, denatured alcohol plant, chemical company, etc. Other important cities of the county are Pinconning and Essexville. Pinconjing, with a population of about 800, islocated on the Michigan Central and Detroit & Mackinac Railroads, and on the Pinconning river, one and one-half miles from Saginaw bay and 19 miles above Bay City. It is lighted by electricity, has Catholic, German Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, public school, library, two banks, a weekly newspaper, water works, etc. Essexville is a town of about 1,600 and is located on the east bank of the Saginaw river near its mouth, and about three miles below Bay City, of which it is, in fact, a suburb. Hais Baptist, CongregationaT and Catholic churches, sugar S.factory; chemical works, shlingle-mill, etc. A street railway affords communication.with Bay City. ". -.. The transportation ficilities of the county include the Michigan Central, Pere Si'Marquette, Grand Trunk,:Detroit & Mackinac Railroads, the Erie & Michigan RailW; ay and Navigation Company, and the Saginaw & Bay City Electric.

Bay County was described this way in Bowen's Michigan State Atlas

James B. Shearer and Family

James B. Shearer

James B. Shearer was a driving force in Bay City from 1863 thru the 1890's. The Bay-Journal has a great write up on his family and him. The James B. mentionned in the link below would appear to be a son on the original James and is mentionned in the family information on the Bay-Journal post.

James B. Shearer and Modern Biology

Microbiology and the Shearer Family

James B. Shearer, who lived on Adams Street has a very modern interest. He was involved in The American Microscopical Society. The link will show his presentation to that group given at Cornell University in 1895.

Michigan's Lumbertowns: Lumbermen and Laborers in Saginaw, Bay City, and Muskegon, 1870-1905 By Jeremy W. Kilar

Felling Operations in the Woods

In the 1840's,teams of four men worked in the woods. A tree was cut by two ax men. These men, called choppers, would fall the tree parallel to the skid road Once it was on the ground, two men working as swampers would trim the tree, cut off all the branches and top, and remove the bark from one side. At this point, a teamster using a 'go-devil' which was often made from the notch of a tree would hitch up to the log and drag it to the skid way or other collection point.

By 1880, much of the work done with the ax had been replaced by the two-man crosscut saw. The saw was much quicker and did not waste as much lumber. Two men using the newer method could fall fifteen trees a day and buck them into seventy-five logs.

Dr. Kilar describes the process in detail in his Michigan Lumbertowns book linked above.

Modern Bay City Map

Bay City Street Map

baycitymi.org is a helpful site for information about modern Bay City. The link points to a map that will be helpful in many research situations.

Bay City's Role in the Western Frontier

Frederick Jackson Turner on Michigan's Contribution

A great deal of the billions of board feet of lumber that was shipped from the forests of Michigan went to build the towns of the plains states. Just as many of the citizens of Bay City came from New York state, many from the region went west. Many graves in this city are filled with people who were part of the frontier further west. Frederick Jackson Turner is a pre-eminent historian on the frontier.

History of the Saw
Saws

Saws made Bay City what it is today but little is known about them by the average historian. This book will change how you look at this important piece of technology. No sound would have been more common on the river in the years from 1850 to 1900 than the whirr of this device. Here, you will find out how these blades were used, repaired and created. Get ready to know more about a critical invention.

1820 Transportation Costs
Transportation Costs from New York to Buffalo


I am always interested in the nearly miraculous drop in prices over the last two centuries. The link above states that the writer spent $30.00 going from Buffalo to Albany by stage. It took ten days.

According to the Currency Convertor you can find in the Links on this page, that is about $530 in 2005 dollars

Founding Bay City

Gansser Link

It appears that the driving force behind the founding of Bay City was James Fraser. Fraser was involved in the founding of the Saginaw Bay Company. The company purchased the land on the east side of the river from John Riley for $30,000. They platted out the city, built a dock and a warehouse. In 1837, there was a depression and all development ceased for a time.

James G. Birney arrived after the depression in 1841. He purchased a part of the Saginaw Bay Company. While his activities on as an abolitionist and candidate for president on a national level were of national importance, he was a pioneer founder of Bay City as well.

Dr. Daniel Hughes Fitzhugh had come to the valley in 1834 to buy land. Though he never lived in Bay City, his son, Charles C. Fitzhugh, resided in the city for many years after his arrival in 1841.

History Books Free

http://books.google.com

Search engines are a great help to the local historian. One of the best sites is books.google.com . Click on the link. When you get there, run a search for Gansser. Just type it in the box provided. You will be amazed. Gansser wrote one of the standard histories of Bay County. You will quickly have the entire copy of the 1905 History of Bay County before your eyes. You can search it too. You can download a copy and if your printer will support the strain you can print it out.

Did you catch the history of the 126th infantry. That is Bay City history too. Read it on another day though. The 1905 history will keep you busy for at least an hour. Have fun.

Michigan Counties and Railroad Routes

Bay City became a rail hub in the last years of the ninteenth century. The 1895 map shown in the link on this page deplays the city as a hub of a wheel with spokes in all directions.

Defoe Shipbuilding Company - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now a scrapyard on the bank on the Saginaw River."

The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was the last of several firms including Davidson and Wheeler who were involved in shipbuilding in Bay City.

Bay County,
Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


"Bay County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 110,157. The county seat is Bay City. Bay County is included in the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county was created by Michigan Law as a fully organized county on April 20,1857."

This is a general information site on all of Bay County.

List of Registered Historic Places in Bay County, Michigan information - Search.com

List of Registered Historic Places in Bay County, Michigan information - Search.com: "List of Registered Historic Places in Bay County, Michigan"

This is a list of registered historic places in Bay City

Bay County Death Records

Bay County Death Records: "11April 161869Thomas McGrawMSingle16 Bay CitySmall PoxCanada Patrick McGrawMargaret McGrawBay City
11October141869William McKayMSingle25 Bay CitykilledCanada Angus McKayHarriet McKayBay City
11April 131869MalloryMSingle 8 Bay City John MalloryEliza MalloryBay City
11September 51869Mary MellanyFSingle6 Bay Citytyphoid fever"

http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/1895/mi_1895.jpg

Maps of the bay area are always interesting. The map linked here gives railroad layout of 1895 when Bay City was a hub of transportation activity. It also shows the location of towns that no longer exist.

Video History of Sebewaing



This video describes the backgound of migration to the valley area. It also gives a good picture of rivers in the valley today

The Victorian Peeper

The Victorian Peeper

The Victorian age was also the time of greatest growth for Bay City. Fashions and beliefs reflected the practice of the times. The above web site will give background on the era.

Over the last three years, the National Park Service has been restoring the 150 year old Frederick Douglass Historic Site. On February 14, 2007 at 10:00 a.m., in honor of Frederick Douglass' 189th birthday, the historic home will reopen to the public. Douglass freed himself from slavery and helped to free millions of others. Visit this important historic site in Washington, DC and learn about his lifetime of accomplishments.

Frederick Douglas would have been well know to James G. Birney, who was one of the early Bay City pioneers. Birney was an abolitionist writer and candidate for President from the Liberty Party in 1840 and 1844.