STATE FAIR, 1874. 403 



country is an unknown and an undiscovered country to one half of the people 

 of Michigan, and it was one good result of the fair to introduce the valley to 

 the people of the State. 



"The History of the Saginaws'' is the title of a modest, well printed and 

 well written pamphlet, by W. E. Bates, Esq., of the Saginaw land office. We 

 advise every one to buy it or borrow it. It tells a romantic story in a truth- 

 ful and unpretentious way. To it we are indebted for many facts about the 

 Saginaw river. This river, " formed by the junction of the Tittabawassee, the 

 Cass, the Flint and the Shiawassee rivers, is a large stream, navigable for all 

 steam and sailing vessels upon the lakes excepting only the very largest, and 

 extends nearly north from its head to its mouth at Saginaw bay, having a total 

 length of about eighteen miles. The streams which unite to form the Sagi- 

 naw, taken together, give over 1,500 miles of river navigation, valuable for the 

 floatage of logs, timber, and lumber, all joining to form the Saginaw. These 

 streams drain an area of over 6,000 square miles, an area greater than Connec- 

 ticut and Ehode Island, which territory contains a large quantity of excellent 

 pine, ash, elm, hemlock, oak and other valuable timbered lands, and as an 

 agricultural region, though but partially developed, is not excelled by any. 



"There are upon the Saginaw river one hundred and twenty-eight mills for 

 lumber and shingles, which cut in 1873 over 000,000,000 feet of lumber, and 

 over 130,000,000 of shingles, besides lath, pickets, etc. The valley also pro- 

 duces a large quantity ot round and square timber, staves, hoops, etc., up at 

 St. Louis. Salt was first manufactured in the Saginaw Valley at East Saginaw 

 in 1800, since which time the manufacture has extended up and down the 

 river, and has increased so that in 1873 the product of the valley was 823,340 

 barrels of salt of 280 lbs. each. The value of the production of the forest pro- 

 ducts of the valley in 1873, as shown by Headley's carefully prepared annual 

 statement of the business, was $22,310,468.00, and of Saginaw and Bay coun- 

 ties alone in 1873, $14,374,000.00. 



" About fifteen miles above the mouth of the Saginaw river, upon the west 

 bank, is located the city of Saginaw, and upon the east bank the city of East 

 Saginaw. East Saginaw is the largest city in the valley, and is its coynmercial 

 center; and being located exactly opposite the city of Saginaw and village of 

 Florence, and connected with them by three bridges, besides a railroad bridge, 

 the interests, welfare and prosperity of the municipalities are considered as 

 substantially identical. Taken together as one city, they would make the sec- 

 ond city in the State, having a population, as shown by census of 1874, of 

 about 28,000 within a territory not to exceed four and one-half miles square." 



Let us go back a step. The State Agricultural Society was organized at 

 Lansing, March 17th, 1849. At that time Saginaw county embraced the fol- 

 lowing thirteen counties: Tuscola, Midland, Bay, Iosco, Alpena, Cheboygan, 

 Ogemaw, Koscommon, Gratiot, Isabella, Clare. Gladwin and Oscoda. In 1847 

 the above territory cast two hundred votes. There was but one school house 

 in that territory, not a church, no ministeis or law^yers, and but one physician. 

 There were three saw mills, — one at Saginaw City, one at East Saginaw, and 

 one at Portsmouth. 



Let it be recollected that at this time, — 1849-50, within the life and history 

 of the State Agricultural Society, — the land upon which East Saginaw is built 

 was a wilderness. That where the State fair was held in 1874, forest trees and 

 an unbroken morass was all that met the eye less than twenty-five years ago. 

 So that it was a pretty wild thing to hold a State fair on the banks of the Sag- 

 inaw river ! 



