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Saginaw, Michigan Skyline (2022)Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Saginaw Township

Saginaw Township dates to 1815, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Saginaw Township was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Its Register listing is the Center Road-Tittabawassee River Bridge. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1860.

1815founded
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Saginaw Township began

When was Saginaw Township founded?

1815

Saginaw Township dates its founding to 1815 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 1,699 in 18602020 census: 41,679211 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓

What stands out about Saginaw Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Saginaw Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 98,265 in 1960; 44,202 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Saginaw Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1815: 211 years of Saginaw Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Saginaw Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Saginaw Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Saginaw Township, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000190019502000Peak: 98,265

Peaked at 98,265 in 1960; 44,202 people lived here in 2020.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Saginaw Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Redan
1872–1874
Shattuckville
1877–1878
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Lawndale Estates Mobile Home ParkShattuckville
Gone or out of use
Shattuckville Post Officepost office
12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Saginaw Township
BaconBethlehemBraleyCaminCatholic Poor FarmHoly Cross Lutheran ChurchMcCartyOakwoodRoselawn Memorial GardensSaginaw County Poor FarmSaginaw TownshipSaint Andrew

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Saginaw Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Saginaw Township.

Read it all →

The site of what later became the city of Saginaw was originally inhabited by the Anishnabeg. French missionaries and traders first appeared in the area during the late 17th century and encountered the Ojibwe (Chippewa) living in the area. The first permanent settlement by those other than Native Americans was in 1816 when Louis Campau established a trading post on the west bank of the Saginaw River. Shortly thereafter the United States established Fort Saginaw. Campau's trading post was also inhabited by Metis.

Chapters19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Saginaw Township, 1815 to 1960

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1815
    FoundingSaginaw Township is established
  3. 1872Post officeThe Redan post office opens
  4. 1874Post officeThe Redan post office closes
  5. 1877Post officeThe Shattuckville post office opens
  6. 1878Post officeThe Shattuckville post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1917On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1927BuiltCenter Road-Tittabawassee River Bridge is built
  10. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 98,265
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Saginaw Township on the map, 1917 to 1975

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Saginaw Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Saginaw Township on the 1917 USGS mapSaginaw Township on the 1975 USGS map1917St Charles sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Saginaw Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Saginaw Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1999
Center Road-Tittabawassee River Bridge
Center Road-Tittabawassee River Bridge, built 1927
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Steel Stringer Bridge1
All 1 listings
Center Road-Tittabawassee River BridgeStructure · listed 1999

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Thomas TownshipIts storyC−Saginaw31 historic placesA+ShieldsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJames TownshipIts storyCCarrollton TownshipIts storyC+Kochville TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Saginaw Township’s history

What year was Saginaw Township founded?

In 1815, according to Wikidata. Saginaw Township’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1860 counted 1,699 people here.

What is on the National Register in Saginaw Township?

One place: the Center Road-Tittabawassee River Bridge (listed 1999).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.