Saginaw

Saginaw's history begins with its river system; the first inhabitants of the area were the Chippewa Indians who used the Saginaw, Shiawassee, and Tittabawassee Rivers for transportation, fishing, and rice harvesting. In 1675, Jesuit priest Fr. Henri Nouvel arrived by canoe from St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula to minister to the local tribes. As the first European visitor, he arrived before the rivers brought the fur traders, who established trading posts to barter with the Native Americans. In 1819, territorial governor Lewis Cass negotiated a treaty with the Native Americans in which millions of acres of their land was ceded to the U.S. government. After the treaty, settlers began to arrive, and lumber barons from the East found that the rivers could transport logs from the woods to the sawmills that dotted the Saginaw River. After the lumber industry waned, many varied trades came into being, and a long list of famous names are connected to the growth of the city. A small selection of early developers, heroes, and modern-day entrepreneurs are featured in this book.