- Featured History Subject -
Midland Street Business District.
The beginnings of Midland Street were laid out when New York lumber barons Henry W. Sage and John McGraw partnered to build a new sawmill in Michigan which was to be the largest in the world. Sage did much of the leg work in locating the ideal spot for the new mill. He chose the Saginaw Bay area and a wilderness spot along the Saginaw River which provided for a deep water port to ship lumber to eastern states.
The property that Sage desired was on the west bank of the river opposite the village of Bay City, which was owned by Elizabeth Fitzhugh Birney, the widow of the well known abolitionist, James G. Birney. It took nearly two years of bargaining before an agreement was reached in 1864, and work began on the new mill which was located just south of the present Midland Street.
Midland Street at the time was nothing more than a horse back trail heading towards Williams Township and the community of Midland. That trail soon became a main road due to the mill which included company housing and a store for its workers. The company town grew rapidly and it wasn't long before other merchants were locating businesses along the trail that became Midland Street in the village of Wenona.
Midland Street was ideally located between the villages of Banks and Salzburg and many customers from these areas frequented the businesses on Midland Street. The Midland Street business district officially became the center commerce on the west side when the three villages merged in 1877 to create West Bay City to rival with Bay City for growth. The two later merged in 1905 to compete with the city of Saginaw.
A walk through the Midland Street business district with an open eye to the details of the historical architecture of its buildings and a little understanding of the early history of this area is about as one can get to a trip back in time. With a little imagination you may be able to replace the paved streets and autobiles in your mind's eye with dirt roads, horse drawn carriages as you walk along on the planks of the wood board walks.
Hopefully the following history pages on Bay-Journal will help you in that direction and will make your next visit to Midland Street a unque experience:
Heritage Library/
Buildings/ {History of Buildings in Midland Street Business District}
Buildings/ {Mohr Block - Midland & Henry streets}
Directories/ {1866-67 Lumber Mills by Location.}
Directories/ {Street Names Database]
Directories/ {1874 Village of Wenona Directory}
People & Businesses/ {Henry W. Sage and the Sage-McGraw Sawmill}
Writings/ {1887: Bay City Years Ago. (Includes description of West Side wilderness.)}
Update
| 
