Freeland

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.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Heritage High School
  High · SAGINAW · 1,396 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• White Pine Middle School
  Middle · SAGINAW · 940 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Freeland Middle SchoolHigh School
  High · FREELAND · 885 students · 21.6:1 ratio
• Freeland Elementary School
  Elementary · FREELAND · 753 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Arthur Hill High School
  High · SAGINAW · 726 students · 24.2:1 ratio
• Carrollton Elementary School
  Elementary · SAGINAW · 688 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• Sherwood Elementary School
  Elementary · SAGINAW · 565 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• North Saginaw Charter Academy
  Elementary · SAGINAW · 561 students · 17.5:1 ratio