Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of the Greater Tri-Cities region of Central Michigan. The Saginaw metropolitan area had a population of 190,124 in 2020, while the Tri-Cities area had 377,474 residents.
Established as a fort following the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw, Saginaw was a thriving lumber town in the 19th century. 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. As part of the Rust Belt, its industry and strong manufacturing presence declined, leading to increased unemployment, crime, and a population decline. Modern economic development is focused on comparative advantages in innovation, clean energy, and continued manufacturing exports. However, the city continues to have a higher proportion of manufacturing jobs than the U.S. average.
Etymology
The name Saginaw is widely believed to mean 'where the Sauk were' in Ojibwe, from or ('Sauk Town'), due to the belief that the Sauk once lived there. However, it is more likely that the name means 'place of the outlet', from the Ojibwe ('opening') and ('place of').
When Natives told Samuel de Champlain that the Sauk nation was on the western shore of Lake Michigan, Champlain mistakenly placed them on the western shore of Lake Huron. This mistake was copied on subsequent maps, and future references identified this as the place of the Sauks. Champlain himself never visited what is now Michigan.
History
19th century
Early history
The site of what later became the city of Saginaw was originally inhabited by the Anishnabeg. French missionaries and traders first appeared in the area during the late 17th century and encountered the Ojibwe (Chippewa) living in the area. 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. Shortly thereafter the United States established Fort Saginaw. Campau's trading post was also inhabited by Metis.
During Michigan's territorial period, a county and township government were organized at Saginaw. Growth of the settlement was fueled rapidly during the 19th century by the lumber industry. Saginaw was the site of numerous sawmills and served as a port for Great Lakes vessels. What is now the city of Saginaw resulted from the consolidation of the cities of East Saginaw and Saginaw City (West Side) in 1889.
Fort Saginaw
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. In 1820, Campau attempted to expand across to the east bank of the river but was rejected by the Chippewas. In 1822, the United States Army established a fort on the west bank of the Saginaw River and named it Fort Saginaw. Two companies were stationed at the fort. A group of investors purchased some land near the fort and had it platted under the name, Town of Sagana. Due to the extremely harsh seasons and illnesses, Fort Saginaw was abandoned by 1824.
Native Americans
Saginaw was the location of the annual government payment to the Ojibwe and Ottawa of the area, starting in the 1830s. This also attracted many French-Canadian and Euro-American merchants, primarily involved in selling watered down whiskey.
Lumber boom
thumb|Eddy lumber docks
thumb|Holland lumber docks on [[Saginaw River 1888]]
thumb|Lumber docks in Saginaw City at Mackinaw Street 1888
thumb|AW Wright lumber docks along Saginaw River
thumb|Pere Marquette Railroad Station (Potter Street Station) 1888
The main cause for the founding and subsequent development of Saginaw was the large demand for lumber as the United States expanded westward. A virgin growth forest principally consisting of white pine trees covered most of Michigan. 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.
Multiple settlements comprise present-day Saginaw. On the west side of the river the first settlement around what had been Fort Saginaw developed into Saginaw, which was incorporated as a city in 1857, containing the seat of the Saginaw County government. On the east side of the river a parallel settlement, East Saginaw, developed which was incorporated first as a village in 1855, and then as a city in 1859. Also south of East Saginaw, on the east bank of the river, the village of Salina formed. Salina's name relates to the brine that led to a growing industry of salt production in the area. Both Saginaw and East Saginaw quickly became a hub for railroad transportation in addition to ships on the Saginaw River. Lumber production peaked by the early 1870s, but had virtually disappeared by the end of the 19th century. 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.
Consolidation
thumb|Saginaw City Hall
thumb|Saginaw City, looking east from the courthouse towards the river, 1888
On June 28, 1889, the Michigan state legislature passed Act 455 to consolidate the cities of Saginaw and East Saginaw into a single city. Prior to this consolidation, the nearby village of Salina had already become part of East Saginaw. The consolidation of Saginaw became effective with the election of officers on March 12, 1890.
20th century
thumb|Panorama of downtown Saginaw, 1912
Industrialization
thumb|Downtown Saginaw about 1915
In the early 20th century, automobile production proliferated throughout Michigan, but most notably in Detroit. Other Michigan cities became suppliers to Detroit factories, sometimes with factories of their own. In Saginaw, the Jackson-Church-Wilcox Company began as a partnership in 1906 for producing steering gear under the "Jacox" brand. Jackson-Church-Wilcox was acquired by Buick in 1909, and as part of General Motors became the Jackson, Church and Wilcox Division, the first GM division devoted to parts production. In 1919 the Jacox division was merged with Saginaw Malleable Iron and Central Foundry into GM's Saginaw Products Company. This formed the basis for the Saginaw Steering Gear Division, created in 1928. General Motors and other manufacturers established foundries and other automobile-related manufacturing facilities in Saginaw, for the production of chemicals and plate glass, as well as metal fabrication. This early development of a symbiotic relationship with the auto industry set the course for the future of the city.
thumb|Aerial view of downtown Saginaw in 1930
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. Saginaw was home to a production facility that produced .30 caliber machine guns more quickly and at lower cost than the Army thought possible, armor-piercing shells for anti-tank use, and more than half a million M1 carbine rifles for the US military during World War II, the "Gun Plant" that later became Steering Gear Plant 2. Saginaw Steering Gear's Plant1 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. Malleable Iron converted its production of Armasteel from engine components to gun parts and tank treads, Saginaw chose to sell water to neighboring communities under long-term contracts. This allowed the townships to further develop at the expense of the city, the limits of which changed little after consolidation in 1889–90. 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.
21st century
Population decline
Manufacturing in Saginaw declined in the latter half of the 20th century, leading to high unemployment in the city. As a result, the city's population diminished dramatically. From 2000 to 2010, the population of Saginaw proper decreased by nearly 10,000. Michigan's population during that period decreased by 0.6% percent, the only U.S. state to lose population during the decade of the 2000s. In addition, Saginaw has faced increasing social problems relating to poverty as a result of its high rate of unemployment. The crime rate has been a major area of concern for the community.
Unemployment and crime
Saginaw's economic conditions, compounded by the Great Recession, are a significant area of concern for the city's residents. The decline in manufacturing jobs has resulted in higher than average rates of unemployment. Property values in the city have declined, decreasing the amount the city government collects in property taxes. Unemployment in Saginaw peaked in July 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, standing at 23.5%. The unemployment rate dropped to 9.0% as of April 2015; crime has decreased as unemployment has decreased.
Saginaw consistently ranks as having one of the highest crime rates in both Michigan and the United States at large. In 2020, Saginaw had a homicide rate of 50.2 per 100,000 people, narrowly surpassing Detroit's rate (49.7) and dwarfing the state and national rates (7.6 and 6.5, respectively).
Combating blight
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. In recent years, city officials, law enforcement, and neighborhood watch associations have made progress in preventing this activity by heavily patrolling target areas and offering rewards for reporting illegal or suspicious activities.
Efforts to reduce blight in Saginaw increased greatly in 2013, with the United States Department of the Treasury approving a grant to demolish vacant and abandoned properties via the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The $100 million grant contained $11.2 million set aside for Saginaw, with Detroit receiving $52.3 million, Flint $20.1 million, Pontiac $3.7 million, and the final $2.5 million going to Grand Rapids. 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. Officials estimate that there were nearly 1,200 homes within the city limits worthy of demolition.
Efforts to revitalize downtown increased in 2013. CBS television executive and Saginaw native David Strouse announced an investment plan in late 2013 that would save nearly an entire block of buildings slated for demolition at the intersection of Washington and Genesee, the core of downtown Saginaw. 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. In 2012 a similar deal was made for the Bancroft and Eddy apartments at the same intersection. Once Section8 housing, these buildings are being transformed into market-rate apartments and retail space.
Economic development in the region is focused on comparative advantages in innovation, clean energy, and continued manufacturing exports. Compared to other mid-sized communities, Saginaw has a high number of patent applications per job, and more than 81 times the average US share of jobs in photovoltaic technology research and production. The city continues to have a higher proportion of manufacturing jobs than the US average.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Saginaw lies on the Saginaw River, inland from the Saginaw Bay, an arm of Lake Huron. The city sits in the middle of the Saginaw Bay watershed, the largest in the state of Michigan. It includes the largest contiguous fresh-water coastal wetland in the United States.
Neighborhoods
The City of Saginaw consists of many diverse neighborhoods, including:
- Downtown
- Old Town
- Southwest Village
- Heritage Square
- Cathedral District
- Houghton Jones Neighborhood
- South East Side
- Covenant Neighborhood
- Northwest Neighborhood
- The Woods
- Adams Boulevard Area
Climate
Saginaw has a humid continental climate influenced by its inland position not on the shore of one of the Great Lakes of Michigan.