BAY CITY, Mich., city, county-seat of Bay County, is located on the south bank of the Saginaw River, four miles from its mouth on Saginaw Bay, from which it takes its name, and at the head of deep water navigation. It is 108 miles northwest of Detroit and is con nected with the Michigan Central, Pere Mar quette, Grand Trunk and the Detroit and Macki nac railway systems. It is the principal market town of a large area of the Saginaw Valley and ((Thumb° region of the lower peninsula. the most fertile section of the State. The river is navigable for the largest lake vessels up to this point. West Bay City, directly across the river, was joined to Bay City 1 April 1905 by a special act of the legislature.
Bay City is an important manufacturing centre, its principal industries being coal, salt, lumber, sugar, alcohol, beer, machinery and chemicals. It has the only alcohol plant in the State which produces proof alcohol from the refuse molasses, a by-product of the manufacture of beet sugar. Its chemi cal works is one of the largest in the world, producing alkalis, soda ash, salt, etc. There are three large beet sugar refineries, two of them being in West Bay City. Over a dozen coal mines are in operation in the county. It is the port of entry of 150,000,000 feet of lumber, imported annually from Canada, upper Michi gan and the Lake Superior district, which is worked up in over a score of local planing mills, box factories and other wood-working plants. It has one machine shop which is one of the biggest in the country and its woodenware fac tory is the biggest in the world. The United States census of manufactures for 1914 re corded 142 industrial establishments of factory grade within the city limits, employing 4,658 persons, of whom 3,771 are wage earners, re ceiving annually $2,129,000 in wages. The capi tal invested aggregated $10,618,000, and the value of the year's output was $11,119,000: of this, $4,716,000 was the value added by manu facture.
Trade and Commerce.— The commerce of
Bay City has changed in character during re cent years. Up to 25 years ago the sawing of pine lumber was the chief industry along the Saginaw River, but because of the exhaustion of the pine forests, this industry has declined. Instead of exporting lumber, as it formerly did, its shipments amounting to 850,000,000 feet in some years, Bay City now brings in heavy shipments of mixed timbers, which is later ex ported in the form of manufactured articles.. Fish, coal, akohol, salt and sugar also form important items in the total shipments. The annual commerce of the city amounts to about $50,000,000.
Railroads and Water Communication.— Bay City is the division headquarters of the Michigan Central Railroad, the Mackinac, Bay City and Detroit, and Bay City and Jackson divisions centring here. It is also the north ern terminal of the C. H. D. and Pere Mar quette system, the northern tertninal of the Grand Trunk and the southern terminal of the Detroit and Macldnac Railroad. It has 59 miles of street railways and is connected with Sagi naw, 14 miles to the south, by electric railway. Two routes, one to Lapper, Pontiac and Detroit ; and the other to Caro, Cass City, Bad Axe and Harbor Beach; also a third rail system, going from Bay City directly to Detroit without change.
City and County Government.— Being the county seat, Bay City contains the county court house and all the county offices, besides a city hall costing $200,000. The charter election is held annually on the first Monday in April. The mayor holds office for two years, the comp troller for four years and the treasurer and recorder for two years. The total expenses of the city during the year ending 1 June 1916 were $560,437. The valuation as assessed for taxation purposes was $26,355,768 in 1916. The public debt of the municipality is $1,281,500 of which $342,500 represents water bonds. the rate of taxation in 1916 was $11.60 on every $1,000 of assessed value.