148 



CITIES, AMERICAN. (BAY CITY.) 



current through the heart of the city, and fur- 

 nishes an ample water power. Aurora was 

 founded in 1834, and in 1850 had a population 

 of 2,000. In 1857 it was incorporated ; in 1860 

 it had a population of 6,000 ; in 1880 of 11,873 ; 

 and in 1890 of 19,688, showing an increase in 

 the decade of 65-82 per cent. Six lines of the 

 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad center 

 here ; also the Chicago and Northwestern, and 

 the Belt Line, or Elgin, Joliet and Eastern. 

 The city was the first in the West to adopt elec- 

 tric lighting, and owns its plant. Gas works 

 were established in 1868, which in 1890 owned 

 83 miles of mains, and made arrangements for 

 erecting a fuel gas plant to furnish gas at 40 

 cents a thousand. The water works, erected in 

 1885-'86, are valued at $204,446, and in 1890 

 had 25 miles and. 90 feet of mains. Five steel 

 bridges, 2 belonging to the railroads, cross 

 the river, the longest having a total length of 

 720 feet. In addition to the high school there 

 are 10 public-school buildings. The school en- 

 rollment is 3,358 ; 72 teachers are employed. 

 Jennings Seminary has as adjuncts a normal 

 school and a business college. There are also a 

 parochial school, a Catholic academy, and 2 

 German Evangelical Lutheran schools. Five 

 national banks have a capital of $600,000, and 

 a surplus of $68,000 ; and there are 2 building 

 and loan associations. Five daily newspapers 

 are published, and 4 weeklies, 1 in German. 

 The total valuation of property of 22 churches 

 is $492,600, and the Young Men's Christian As- 

 sociation owns its buildings. The sloping banks 

 of the river furnish excellent drainage. A Driv- 

 ing-park Association was organized in 1889, and 

 has a fine tract of 26 acres within the city lim- 

 its. The city horse railway was purchased in 

 1890 by an electric company, which adopted the 

 Sprague overhead system. The total value of 

 city property is $574,205.73. The City Hall is a 

 fine building, and Memorial Hall, erected by the 

 Soldiers' Monument Association, contains the 

 public library. The City Hospital has a new 

 brick building costing $9,000, and there is an 

 orphanage founded by private benevolence. The 

 sum of $75,000 has been appropriated by Con- 

 gress for a Government building. The shops of 

 the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, 

 erected in 1855-'56, at a cost of $120,000, exclu- 

 sive of machinery, embrace locomotive works, 

 car shops, and a chemical and physical labora- 

 tory ; 1,500 men are employed, with a monthly 

 pay-roll of $60,000. The other industries include 

 iron works, one of the largest factories of wood- 

 working machinery in the United States, a sil- 

 ver-plate company, a sash, door, and blind fac- 

 tory, stove works, cotton mills, a corset factory 

 employing 600 hands, agricultural -implement 

 works* a factory for well-sinking machinery, a 

 foundry and machine shop, a watch factory, a 

 smelting and refining" company, 2 factories of 

 door-hangers, carpet-sweepers, patent oil-cans, 

 etc., a carriage factory, road-cart works, and a 

 large-wheeled scraper company. 



Bay City, a city of Michigan, the county seat 

 of Bay County, on Saginaw river near its mouth, 

 in Saginaw Bay, 143 miles from Toledo, Ohio, and 

 121 from Jackson by rail. The population by the 

 census of 1890 was'27,839(in 11 wards), showing 

 an increase of 7,146 over 20,693 in 1880. In 1887 



an act was passed by the Legislature of Michigan 

 enabling the consolidation in 1891 of Bay City 

 proper, West Bay City, and Essexville village. 

 The last two, in 1890, had populations respective- 

 ly of 12,981 and 1,545. The total population of 

 Bay County in 1890 was 56,412, and in 1891 the 

 assessed valuation of property, real and personal, 

 was $27,000,000. The first settlement of Bay 

 City was made in 1838, and in 1858 the county 

 was organized and it became the county seat. In 

 1867 the first railroad was built. Transportation 

 _ is now afforded by 3 lines, and in 1887 the city 

 "owned 119 craft, aggregating over 28,732 tons, 

 and valued at $1,500,000. The same year the 

 total value of city property was $780,586.96, and 

 its bonded debt was $367,000. The tax rate was 

 $1.84. In 1891 there were 30 miles of well-paved 

 streets and 50 miles of county (macadamized) 

 roads. Water works of the Holly system were 

 erected in 1872, and in 1886 a Gaskell compound 

 engine was added, making the total quantity 

 pumped during the year 779,761.852 gallons. The 

 value of the water works in 1887 was $426,773, 

 and there were more than 24 miles of sewers. 

 Two free bridges span Saginaw river. The fire 

 department property is valued at $57,076, and 

 the electric-light plant at $31,583. The gas com- 

 pany was organized in 1868. The sum of $63,- 

 600 has been invested in public parks. The 

 school property in 1887 was valued at $177,500 ; 

 3,836 children were enrolled, and 76 teachers em- 

 ployed in 10 public-school buildings. There was 

 an enrollment of 230 also in the high school. 

 There is also a commercial college. In Bay City 

 proper there are 21 churches, and in West Bay 

 City 8. Five banks, 2 of which are national, 

 have an aggregate capital of $750,000, and a sur- 

 plus of $240,000. Three daily and 4 weekly 

 newspapers are published. A handsome opera 

 house was erected in 1886. The depot of the 

 Michigan Central Railroad includes two build- 

 ings, and is 286 by 50 feet, and three stories 

 high, with a tower 104 feet. The Masonic Tem- 

 ple, Crapo Block, and Trinity Church, the last 

 costing $60.000, are notable. There is a court 

 house and a public library. The leading indus- 

 tries are ship-building, lumber, salt, and fish. 

 The first ship-building on Saginaw river began 

 in 1848: and to 1887, 57 propellers had been 

 built, 6 side-wheel steamers, and 45 tugs, as well 

 as schooners, scows, and barges. Since 1886, by 

 report of the United States Census on transpor- 

 tation, a revolution has taken place in the mate- 

 rial and structure of floating equipment on the 

 Great Lakes, probably more rapid and complete 

 than any other in the history of marine archi- 

 tecture. The total tonnage of Bay City in 1889 

 was 553,219 tons, of which 486.973 were ship- 

 ments and 66,246 receipts. The first saw mill 

 was erected in 1832, and in 1886 the shipment 

 from Bay City and mills south reached 587,855,- 

 000 feet of lumber and 118,394.000 shingles. In 

 1887, $4,085,000 were invested in the lumber in- 

 dustry. In 1860, 2 salt companies were organized, 

 and prior to 1869, when the inspection law was 

 passed, 3.282,11 7 barrels were manufactured. The 

 total, from 1869 to 1886, was 34,100,468 barrels. 

 Bay County in that year had 31 "salt companies, 

 with capacity of 1,300,000 barrels. About 500 

 men are engaged in fishing on Saginaw Bay, 

 with over 100 sail-boats. In winter, spearing 



