Saginaw County Michigan

Saginaw City History

Florence - Area just south of Genesee St. on the west side of the river in Saginaw, which was later absorbed by the City of Saginaw.  This area is sometimes referred to as North Saginaw.  Settled in 1864 around a sawmill.

Old Town - West Side refer to the area on the west bank of the Saginaw River where Saginaw first formed and is near the courthouse. 

North Side - See Florence above.

Saginaw City, Old Town or West Side - History with names

South Saginaw - See Spaulding Township

Salina - See Spaulding Township

The above areas are all merged into the City of Saginaw.

Back To Top

Look At Saginaw Township Also for City Owned Cemeteries

Saginaw City Cemeteries
Saginaw City Hall
3210 S. Washington
Saginaw, MI 48601
1 (989) 759-1656

Forest Lawn Cemetery 
Established in 1881 and now covers 200 acres on S. Washington Street in the city of Saginaw. The cemetery is owned by he City of Saginaw and records are held at City Hall.

Brady Hill Cemetery 
Established in 1855 on 28 acres on Holland Road at Jefferson Avenue. The cemetery is owned by the city of Saginaw and records are held at City Hall.

Timbertown Log Listing: 
Brady Hill cemetery Timbertown Log 16 2 Winter 1987
Brady Hill cemetery burials, 1875-76 Timbertown Log 13 4 Summer 1985
Burials in Brady Hill cemetery, 1877-78 Timbertown Log 13 3 Spring 1985
Interments at Brady Hill cemetery Timbertown Log 8 1 Fall 1979
Interments at Brady Hill cemetery Timbertown Log 8 2 Winter 1980

Oakwood Cemetery Established in 1868 and covers approximately 100 acres. It is located on the corner of Gratiot and Midland roads. The cemetery is owned by the city of Saginaw and records are held at City Hall.

Timbertown Log Article: Burial records of Civil War vets, Oakwood cemetery Timbertown Log 13 3 Spring 1985

City Cemetery 
Once located south of Lee Street and east of Niagara Street was established by Saginaw Township in the early 1840's before the city of Saginaw was incorporated. The cemetery was abandoned in 1871 with the burials removed to Oakwood Cemetery.

Fort Saginaw Cemetery 
Site used for those persons who died at the fort in 1822 and 1823. During the occupation of this fort, a number of men and women died of malaria in 1823. The cemetery was discovered during street improvements in 1885 at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Cass Streets. These remains were removed to Oakwood Cemetery. One of those who died there was Lt. James B. Allen. His trunk of belongings was returned to his family in Northfield, Massachusetts where it remained until 1910 when it was returned to Saginaw by Mrs. Jennie Whipple, granddaughter of Mr. Allen. This trunk was sent to the Saginaw Museum.

Calvary Catholic Cemetery 
Established in 1868 south of Brady Hill Cemetery and east of Hoyt Park. The cemetery is owned by the Catholic Cemetery Commission - Saginaw Catholic Diocese. E-mail or call (at the bottom of page). 3440 S Washington Rd., Saginaw, MI 48601 1 989-752-7159.

*There was once a pioneer cemetery on the west side of North Michigan in the 300 block where the Hickey parking lot now stands.

• The 1877 Atlas shows a lot on the west side of Start Street between Union and Congress to be a cemetery. This cemetery does not show on the 1991 Michigan Cemetery Atlas.

• A small burial plot overgrown with lilac bushes was found on the south side of Hess Street just west of the Wilkins Street extension in the early 1940's by the owners of the property, Baker Perkins, Inc. The company advertised this finding asking for any one related to the persons to come forward. There was no response to this announcement, thus the area was covered will fill dirt.

• In the mid 1920's a Saginaw News story stated that while excavating near the Gorham Greenhouse on South Washington Avenue, several graves were uncovered. The remains were found to be in boxes thus not likely to be Indian remains.

• During 1962 while widening the streets at the south east corner of North Hamilton and West Remington, several burials were unearthed. This area was known to have been the site of an Indian Village. The site was investigated by the Saginaw Chapter of the Michigan Archaeological Society. Nine burials were recorded and the remains reburied with a bronze plaque on a boulder to mark the site. Due to the absence of any trade items, the remains were believed to have been Indian. Less than 500 feet from this site, on the east side of Hamilton Street between Miller and West Holland, an additional 15 burials were investigated by the same society. These remains however, did include items of trade.

This information compiled about the cemeteries of Saginaw County was taken from a number of resources by the previous county coordinators. Some of this information was compiled by the individual township supervisors of the county in the late 1960's and provided to us by Patrick Bohinski. 

Carolyn's Saginaw Images Site

  Back To Top