INDIAN AND PIONEER HISTORY

of the

SAGINAW VALLEY,

WITH HISTORIES OF

EAST SAGINAW, SAGINAW CITY AND BAY CITY,

FROM THEIR EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS

--- ALSO ---

PIONEER DIRECTORY

--- AND ---

BUSINESS ADVERTISER,

FOR 1866 AND 1867.

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COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY
THOMAS & GALATIAN,

EAST SAGINAW, MICH.
LEWIS & LYON, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS
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1866

 HISTORY OF BAY CITY

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     BAY CITY, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, is sit-
uated on the right and east bank of Saginaw River, and about
four miles from its mouth.  It is in Township fourteen, North
Range five East principal meridian; in latitude forty-three and
a half, nearly north, and in longitude eighty-four west.
     The ground on which it stands is from twelve to twenty, and
in places, thirty feet above the surface of the river; which, at
this point, from its nearness to the Bay and from its breadth, as
well as from the peculiar conformation of the country above,
maintains very nearly an even stage of water; seldom varying
from its accustomed height more than from two to four feet  -
the chief rise and fall being regulated by the stage of water in
the lakes.  The ground on which the city stands is admirably
adapted to the demands of a large place.  It is firm in structure
- being composed of compact clay and loam - high enough for
all the purposes of drainage and for cellars, and yet not rising
into hills nor sinking into gulies, so as to necessitate expensive
grading; allowing the easy moving of heavy materials and of
buildings, such as the requirements of a growing city call for.
     In early days the land was wet in the first months of the
year, as in the forest adjacent it sometimes still is; not because
it lacked a sufficient height for good drainage, but from the
compact nature of the subsoil forbidding the easy escape of the
water beneath.  Any lands, even the highest, are liable to be
wet from the same cause.  This difficulty is in process of
remedy precisely as fast as the country is settled, cleared and
brought under culture.
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