Saginaw, Michigan

It was an important industrial city and manufacturing center throughout much of the 20th century due to its automobile and automotive parts production led by General Motors.The first permanent settlement by those other than Native Americans was in 1816 when Louis Campau established a trading post on the west bank of the Saginaw River.In 1819, Lewis Cass, in the Treaty of Saginaw, negotiated the prerogative for the United States to own and settle the area with the leaders of the Ojibwe.[14] The main cause for the founding and subsequent development of Saginaw was the large demand for lumber as the United States expanded westward.The convenient access to transportation provided by the Saginaw River and its numerous tributaries fueled a massive expansion in population and economic activity.As the trees were being cut down in the region, logs were floated down the rivers to sawmills located in Saginaw, destined to be loaded onto ships and later railroad cars.In addition to salt production, which experienced an eventual decline as well, growing industries, such as those supporting the area's agriculture and manufacturing, developed.Saginaw was to be governed by a city council consisting of two aldermen elected from 21 wards and a mainly ceremonial executive mayor who was to have fairly weak powers.[18] Before the United States entered World War II, Saginaw's industrial complex became directed towards military production.Turning its efforts to the production of munitions, ordnance and components for military vehicles made Saginaw a significant contributor to the Allies' victory.[20] Saginaw Steering Gear's Plant 1 also began wartime production in 1941, concentrating on ball screws that would eventually be used in the wing flaps of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.In the years following World War II, the Michigan state legislature enacted laws making it increasingly difficult for incorporated cities to expand by annexing territory from neighboring townships.The unintended consequence of this choice was that Saginaw's population stopped growing, new housing development focused on the suburban townships, and businesses eventually followed.[28][32] Unemployment and population loss in the late 20th and early 21st centuries has led to urban decay, specifically a rise in abandoned homes that provided locations for criminal activity.[33] After the grant's approval, Saginaw city officials announced a program to purchase unwanted, abandoned structures from their owners, which would be then added to a list of homes to tear down.The plan called for the renovation and redevelopment of four buildings, creating market-rate apartments on the upper floors and retail space at ground level.Numerous other arts and cultural organizations serve the community including the Saginaw Arts & Enrichment Commission, Eddy Band, Holidays in the Heart of the City, River Junction Poets, Theodore Roethke House of Poetry, Riverside Film Festival, Lawn Chair Film Festival, Friday Night Live Concerts, River Junction Poets and Saginaw Area Watercolor Society.The Downtown Farmer's Market offers Michigan produce, flowers, and baked goods from local bakeries and will be moving to an indoor permanent location in 2017.The city's roster of local arts organizations includes Pit and Balcony, one of the oldest continuously operating community theaters in the United States, founded in 1932.The museum is housed in a former post office which was built to resemble a castle, and pays homage to the historical French heritage of the area.[75] Saginaw is home to a Japanese Cultural Center, Tea House and Garden, as a result of its 52-year Sister-City relationship with Tokushima, Japan.[77] At the collegiate level, Saginaw Valley State University competes in numerous sports such as American Football, Basketball, and Volleyball.Freight and passenger routes radiated to Bay City to the north, Port Huron to the east, Toledo to the south, Grand Rapids and Chicago to the southwest and Ludington to the west.[88][89][90] Grand Trunk Railroad ran trains from Bay City through Saginaw to Durand, for connections to Chicago, Detroit, Port Huron and Toronto.The Huron and Eastern Railway operates the former GTW mainline through the city, which intersects with Lake State's Midland Line at Mershon Junction.Interstate 75 (I-75) serves as the main arterial route for the Saginaw area while I-675 provides direct access to the center of the city from I-75.This plant treated water brought in from the Saginaw river and piped it out to the residents as well as corner pumps for people that did not have direct connections to the system.[101] It also offers walk-in clinics and facilities scattered throughout the county for outpatient surgery, breast cancer diagnosis, physical therapy, sports medicine and eye care.Ascension Saint Mary's of Michigan, located at 800 South Washington, is a hospital with approximately 225 staffed beds and sees 168,000 patients a year.[98] St. Mary's treats trauma, heart disease, and cancer among other ailments, and opened its Ambulatory Care Center in Saginaw Township in 2000 featuring the county's first suburban emergency room.