County note shelf
Bay County Porch Notes
Stories, practical details, outdoor places, tax quirks, and local history connected to Bay County. This shelf has 5 practical notes and 16 local stories.
21 notes
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- History and culture "Franconian joy" — a sister colony to Frankenmuth Frankenlust Township's name and history come from a Franconian Lutheran farming colony tied to Frankenmuth's founding story.
- History and culture A city of drawbridges Bay City's Saginaw River crossings still lift for freighters and sailboats, with a mix of free and tolled bridges.
- Outdoors A state park and a great marsh on the bay Bay City State Park and Tobico Marsh make Bangor Township one of Bay County's main outdoor stops for shoreline trails and birding.
- History and culture Bay City: sawmills, ships, and lumber-baron mansions Bay City's riverfront history runs from Saginaw Valley sawmills to shipyards, the USS Edson, and Center Avenue mansions.
- History and culture The Cheese Capital of Michigan Pinconning's lumber-to-dairy story produced Pinconning cheese, Wilson's Cheese Shoppe, and the town's Cheese Capital identity.
- History and culture Michigan Is the "Wolverine State." There Are No Wild Wolverines in Michigan. Michigan is the Wolverine State, yet wolverines have essentially never lived here — and it isn't even the official state animal (Michigan has none).
- History and culture One of the World's Biggest Pop Stars Was Born in Bay City Madonna — the Material Girl, one of the best-selling artists in history — was born in Bay City, Michigan, and raised in the Detroit suburbs.
- History and culture Pinconning: Michigan's Cheese Capital Pinconning cheese — Michigan's own Colby-style original — was born here in 1915, and the founder's family shops still anchor the town.
- History and culture Styrofoam Was Invented in Midland (and What You Call 'Styrofoam' Probably Isn't) Dow invented Styrofoam in Midland in 1941 — and here's the twist: the foam cups and coolers you call 'styrofoam' aren't actually Styrofoam at all.
- History and culture Essexville: where Michigan's sugar industry was born Michigan's first successful beet-sugar factory opened in Essexville in 1898, launching an industry that still defines the Saginaw Valley — and the Pioneer Sugar name.
- History and culture There's a US Navy destroyer parked on the Saginaw River The USS Edson, a 418-foot Navy destroyer, is moored on the Saginaw River in Bangor Township as the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum.
- Outdoors Tobico Marsh: a national landmark wetland behind the beach Bay City State Park in Bangor Township pairs a Saginaw Bay beach with Tobico Marsh, a National Natural Landmark and one of the largest Great Lakes coastal wetlands.
- History and culture The Eastern White Pine Michigan named the eastern white pine its state tree in 1955 — honoring the timber that built the state, and that the state nearly cut down to the last trunk.
- Home and property Low, flat country where the river meets the bay Bay County's low Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay setting makes flood maps and shoreline risk important for buyers.
- Home and property The Saginaw River cleanup, and the fish advisories downstream Downstream Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay buyers should know about dioxin cleanup history, fish advisories, and floodplain sediment.
- Home and property Out past the suburbs, you're on a well and septic Rural Bay County township homes often use private wells and septic systems, so buyers should ask for records and inspections.
- Outdoors Dow Gardens and the treetop walk Dow Gardens and Whiting Forest give Midland a public garden, historic home, and nationally noted treetop canopy walk.
- History and culture The Tridge Midland's three-legged Tridge crosses the Chippewa and Tittabawassee confluence and anchors downtown trails, parks, and markets.
- Outdoors Saginaw Bay's walleye: a comeback for the record books Saginaw Bay's once-collapsed walleye fishery recovered so completely that it's now ranked among the best in the country, with millions of fish and a busy charter fleet.
- Money and taxes Buying in a township? Watch for special assessments on top of your taxes Michigan township buyers should check for special assessments that can add separate road, sewer, water, lighting, sidewalk, or drain charges.
- Money and taxes In Michigan, you get two property-tax bills a year — not one Most Michigan property owners get separate summer and winter tax bills, with local rules deciding what lands on each bill.