Freeland is a census-designated place in Tittabawassee Township, Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Saginaw-Midland-Bay Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 7,630. The CDP covers an area in the central portion of Tittabawassee Township. The Freeland post office, ZIP code 48623, serves nearly the entire township, as well as portions of Midland and Williams townships to the north, Frankenlust and Kochville townships to the east, Thomas and Richland townships to the south, and Ingersoll Township to the west.

It is the location of MBS International Airport, which serves three major nearby cities: Saginaw, Bay City and Midland.

It is also the location of the Saginaw Correctional Facility, which is a level I, II and IV maximum security prison.

History

The place was home to Native Americans long before the arrival of European settlers. In the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw, the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawatomi ceded a large portion of land, including Saginaw County, to the United States federal government. In that treaty, within the ceded territory, several tracts were reserved for specific groups of Chippewa. One such tract, Black Bird's Village, consisted of on the Tittabawassee (named as the Tetabawasink river in the text of the treaty), very near to the present location of Freeland.

In the 1850s, lumbering outposts developed in the area, one of which was called "Loretta", which was given a post office named "Jay" in April 1856. The office was named for the first postmaster, Jefferson Jaqruth. This outpost was very nearly at the geographical center of Tittawabasse Township. Another settlement was placed just a little to the north. in 1867, one resident of the second locale, George Truesdale, instigated moving the post office from Loretta to his settlement, which retained the name of Jay for several years afterwards.

The name of Freeland comes from "Mammy Freeland" who operated a popular tavern on the river, frequented by lumbermen and rivermen, who came to refer to the entire settlement as Freeland. The name of the post office was changed to Freeland in January 1879. It was also a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad. By another account (Moore), the Freeland family name was prominent in the business and politics of the area.

During World War II, the airport now known as MBS International was used to hold German and Japanese prisoners of war.

In 1985, Freeland's Lions Clubs International chapter began the annual Freeland Walleye Festival.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (0.45%) is water.

Notable people

  • Aleda E. Lutz, WWII Army Flight Nurse, second most decorated woman in U.S. history.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Freeland had a population of 7,630. The median age was 37.9 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 143.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 155.3 males age 18 and over.

92.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 7.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,280 households in Freeland, of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 63.2% were married-couple households, 12.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 18.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Transportation

The main highway running through Freeland is M-47, which goes northbound to US-10, and southbound towards Thomas Township, Michigan, and Saginaw, Michigan

References

  • Saginaw Correctional Facility
  • Miller Empey Room