Leon Tromblé is regarded as the first settler within the limits of Bay County, in an area which would become Bay City. In 1831, he built a log cabin on the east bank of the Saginaw river. Bay City was first established in 1837 and was incorporated as a city in 1865. In 1834
John B. Trudell built a log-cabin near the present corner of Seventeenth and Broadway. Trudell later purchased land that extended from his residence north along the river to what later became the location for the Industrial Brownhoist, making him the first permanent resident of what has become Bay County. Bay City became the largest community in the county and the location of the county seat of government. Most of the county's agencies and associations are located here. The city shares common borders with
Essexville and the townships of
Bangor,
Frankenlust,
Hampton,
Merritt,
Monitor, and
Portsmouth. Bay City was originally known as Lower Saginaw, and fell within the boundaries of
Saginaw County. On June 4, 1846, the Hapton, or Hampton, Post Office opened to service Lower Saginaw. The community was placed in Bay County, when the county was organized in 1857. It was at this time that the name was changed to Bay City. The Post Office changed its name to Bay City on March 22, 1858. The governor of Michigan at the time,
Albert Sleeper, sought support from the German-American community but experienced backlash. Even before the declaration of war against Germany, anti-German sentiment was so strong that hundreds of young men from Michigan had gone across the border to Canada to join the
Canadian Armed Forces so as to be a part of the war effort.
Notable events On December 23, 1906, Bay City's premier hotel, the Fraser House, burned to the ground. Bay City's unusual Third Street Bridge was damaged by a freighter on June 17, 1976. The following morning, when the swing span was operated, one half crashed into the Saginaw River blocking all riverine traffic. A river crossing was never reinstated at that location. On December 10, 1977, a deadly fire claimed the lives of 10 at the Wenonah Hotel (Wenonah Park Apartments) in downtown Bay City. The hotel had been built on the site of the Fraser House, which had also succumbed to a fiery end. Strong winds and cold weather hampered the efforts of the fire department. There was some controversy over the cause of the fire (arson, electrical, or grease fire) and it remains the deadliest fire in Bay County history. On Christmas Eve, 1979, a large Bay City department store of long standing, Oppenheim's, was destroyed by fire. In September 1990, the tankship MV
Jupiter was unloading gasoline at the Total Petroleum Terminal. A passing cargo ship, , moving at excessive speed, created a wake that caused
Jupiter to break free of its berth. A fire and explosion ensued, and one man drowned. There was considerable legal action taken, ultimately resulting in an adjudication that was subsequently appealed by the owners of
Buffalo. The findings of the Court of Appeals upheld the original decision, which assigned 50% of the responsibility to
Buffalo (for her excessive speed), 25% to the dock operator (for rotten wood pilings) and 25% to
Jupiter (for improper procedures in unloading her cargo). In January 2009, Bay City's wholly owned municipal power company, Bay City Electric Light and Power, installed a "limiter" device to restrict the receipt of power to the home of Marvin Schur, a 93-year-old customer who had failed to pay an outstanding bill in excess of $1,000. The Bay City Electric Light and Power policy was to install the limiter, and to notify the customer by trying to collect the amount due. City employees failed to knock on the door, and it was later found that Schur had a check already made out and had failed to mail it. Schur died from hypothermia in his home a few days later. The day following his death, Bay City Electric Light and Power removed the limiters from all households. It was later learned that Schur had willed his estate, estimated by his family to be in excess of $500,000, to Bay Regional Medical Center. On October 12, 2010, the historic 113-year-old City Hall sustained significant damage as the result of an attic fire which caused the sprinkler system to run for nearly two hours. Most of the damage to the building was water damage from the sprinkler system and water used to fight the fire. The fire started in the midst of a $1.6 million roofing project. After an investigation, it was determined that a worker was using a grinder to cut off bolts in the area where the fire started, and sparks from the work started the blaze. Fire crews were on the scene for nearly five hours fighting the hard-to-access fire. ==Geography==