Saginaw

Sister cities

• Tokushima
• Zapopan

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. 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. 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. The main…

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. 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 Saginaw has a humid continental climate influenced by its inland position not on the shore of one of the Great Lakes of Michigan.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,757
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,043
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,892
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  4,743
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,712
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,389
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,374
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,330