BAY CITY, a city of Michigan, United States, Loom. N.N.W. of Detroit, built on both sides of the Saginaw'river near its outfall into Saginaw bay (Lake Huron) ; a port of entry and the county seat of Bay county. It has 17m. of river frontage, and the channel has a uniform depth of 18 feet. It is served by the Michigan Cen tral, the Grand Trunk, the Pere Marquette, the Detroit and Mackinac, and the Michigan (electric) railways, and by lake steamers; and has an airport. The population in 1920 was 47,554, of whom 8,954 were foreign-born white (3,367 from Canada and 1,256 from Germany) ; and in 1930 was 47,355 Federal census.
Bay City is in the midst of Michigan's coal-fields, and of a fer tile region producing large quantities of sugar-beet and diversified crops. It has extensive fisheries; a large produce commission busi ness; large manufactures of beet-sugar and chicory, cigars, chemi cals, hosiery and knitted goods, launches and motor-boat engines, pickles, cement, radio outfits, machinery, knock-down houses, ve neer, maple flooring and other wood-working industries. The out put of the 93 manufacturing establishments within the city limits in 1927 was valued at $27,446,302. The assessed valuation of property in 1926 was $48,197,345. Bay City has a planning corn mission and a commission-manager form of government.
Fishermen and traders as early as 1837 made settlements here, called Lower Saginaw and Portsmouth. By 1859, when the village of Bay City was incorporated, a number of sawmills were in opera tion. Salt, discovered under the village in 1859, also became an important factor in its development. At the height of the lumber ing industry it shipped more rough lumber than any other place in the country. Gradually industries developed which dressed and manufactured the lumber before shipping, and in recent years great quantities of timber have been imported from Canada and the Upper Peninsula. Coal was discovered in 1895. The city was incorporated in 1865, with a population of 3,3J9, which grew to 27,628 in 1900. In 1905 West Bay City, which had a population of 13,119 in 1900, was consolidated with it.