If 574 .B3 C89 Copy 1 YESTERDAY and TODAY Being a story by word and by picture of the City of Bay City and two of the lead- ing institu- tions thereof Ov«V^>^''ii } ^^OUVN-^OLv^ THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK and THE BAY COUNTY SAVINGS BANK CENTER AND WASHINGTON AVES. BAY CITY, MICHIGAN It li'-n \ 29 1916/ >CI.A4;3182:J Copyright 1916 The Bay County Savings Bank ^^^y \. ^ i „ French traveler and writer, De Tocqueville, who visited the United States in 1831 to secure material for his work, "Demo- cracy in America," came to the Saginaw Valley, then the "far west," and there is no more pro- phetic utterance in his whole work than this paragraph referring to the territory of which Bay City now forms an important part: "In a few years these impenetrable forests will have fallen; the sons of civiliza- tion will break the silence of the Saginaw; the banks will be imprisoned by quays; its current, which now flows on unnoticed and tranquil through a nameless waste, will be stemmed by the prow of vessels. We are, perhaps, the last travellers allowed to see the primitive grandeur of this solitude." NAU-QUA-CHIC-A-MING Head Chief of the Chippewa Indians E Tocqueville's visit was in the days of thie trapper and the fur trader. The most authentic annals state that nearly forty years before, the first white man had visited this section in quest of the wealth of furs with which the land abounded. And for a generation after he came the trapper and trader were predominant. To them the vast forests, which later formed the basis of immense fortunes, meant nothing except that they furnished a home for the fur-bearing ani- mals which they sought. That they had no vision of the future is best seen in the fact that while many amassed wealth in those days, the names of none of the ear- liest comers to Bay City are connected in- delibly with the lumber industry. And the early lumbermen, the pine barons, so- called, have left their imprint upon the city the same as did, the fur traders, but many of them failed to peer deeply into the future, and when the forests were de- pleted of their pine trees, transferred their activities to other lands where primeval forests still awaited the woodsman. BAY CITY'S OLDEST HOUSE Still standing at Twenty-fourth and Water Streets ^^E- BAY CITY IN 1837 BAY CITY, as now constituted, is the outgrowth of numerous little settlements along both sides of the Saginaw river. The first grew up about the trading posts. Then came the first land speculators, and in 1836 the village of Portsmouth was platted; a year or two later a small saw-mill was built and the first lumber sawed here, but the mill was erected solely with the idea of sup- plying the local demand, as settlers were beginning to come in, the fur-trading and the fishing industry furnishing a means of livelihood for the residents. The village of Lower Saginaw, which later became Bay City, was laid out by a company com- posed chiefly of Detroit capitalists, in 1837. They had pur- chased what was known as the John Riley Reserve and platted 240 acres of it for their village. The boundaries were Woodside Avenue on the north, a line 100 feet east of Van Buren Street on the east, a line 400 feet south of Tenth Street on the south, and the river on the west. BAY CITY IN 1854 ¥. S'^-. -;cV1 ^'"> m,^-*^^ VIEW OF BAY CITY IN 1874 THE promoters of Lower Saginaw planned to build docks and warehouses and to make Bay City a trading center for this section of the state. The first buildings were erected, and then financial blight struck the company and the new town lan- guished for several years. It was not until 1844 that the settle- ment made a real start in the manufacture of pine lumber, the industry which later was to make it world famous, and then, having built up a city, was to die out as had that of the fur trap- per and fur trader. James McCormick in that year built a mill at Portsmouth, and James Fraser and Cromwell Barnes built one at Kawkawlin. Even these early lumbermen had no vision of the great future and the immense fortunes which would be ac- cumulated from the pine forests. Gradually other mills were constructed, the first one in Lower Saginaw being located on what is now the Gates property, just south of Wenonah Park. From about 1848 to 1865, how- ever, there was a rapid development in operations, and in that year there were twenty-four mills which cut an aggregate of 116,500,000 feet of lumber. N the meantime mills had been constructed in Banks, Wenona, Salzburg and down the river, below what was the original boundary of Lower Saginaw, and about each of these mills there grew up neighborhoods which later were consolidated into Bay City on the east side of the river, and West Bay City on the west side, and the two in 1905 became one united city after several previous half-hearted efTorts at consolidation failed. With the growth of the lumber busi- ness there was also developed the manu- facture of salt, almost a twin industry with that of making lumber, for practically every mill-owner also had a salt block, while the few efforts at making salt without the accompaniment of a saw mill proved unprofitable. And when the mills went out of business the making of salt became almost a lost industry. FIRST HOME OF THE BAY COUNTY SAVINGS BANK \ \ IN THE DAYS OF THE LUMBER BARONS THE population of the city increased with the growth of its lumber business. The saw mills and the logging camps brought the men who had learned the manufacture of lumber in the New England States and in Western New York, and the sturdy French-Canadians who helped to make a great deal of the early history of the city. With the growth of population came a demand for better school facilities, more churches, bet- ter government and the improvements of a well-to-do com- munity. The village of Bay City, which included a somewhat larger territory than the original plat of Lower Saginaw, was incorpor- porated in 1859, and the first city charter was adopted in 1865. In 1883 the village of Portsmouth was annexed to Bay City. The late Nathan B. Bradley was the city's first mayor. The rapid growth of the lumber business from the late 50's soon brought a demand for banking facilities, and the first bank in Bay City was a private institution established in 1863 by C. W. Gibson & Co., in a room in a frame structure on Water Street where, later, the Campbell House was erected. VIEW OF CENTER STREET, 1874. /\ LOCATION OF FIRST NATIONAL BANK COURT HOUSE "^ ^.^ 'A OLD DAYS ON THE SAGINAW RIVER IT was known as the Bay Bank, but a year later the First National Bank was organized by Mr. Gibson and four others, took over the business of the Bay Bank, and the bank moved into a building erected especially for it by James Fraser. There were six stockholders in the bank, Chauncey W. Gibson, Chas. D. Gibson, Thornton W. Gibson, Robert L. Warren, Henry Benson and Harvey I. Clark. The bank had a capital of $50,000. The organization of this bank was the beginning of a his- tory of financial success which kept pace with the growth of the city and the development of new enterprises, and which, too, reflected that period in the history of Bay City when for a time there were a few pessimists who were willing to believe that its sole foundation was sawdust and that, with the pine forests gone and the hey-day of the lumber business passed away, there would be no recovery industrially, and the city would drop back to the standing of a country village. P to that time there had been little or no individual develop- ment except such as was incident to the lumber business. The machine shops had been operat- ed chiefly to take care of the business of the saw-mills; the big stores depended largely upon the trade which came to them through the lumber camps, and the scores of vessels which plied the lakes with lumber from Bay City; shipyards which had growm up through the necessity of providing vessels for this traf- fic, languished. There were no coal mines and there were no sugar factories. Some of the men who had made their fortunes out of the forests tributary to Bay City, aided by the brawn of its inhabitants, sought new virgin forests to denude so as to add to those fortunes. Their vision was not much broader than that of the trappers who left when the lumbermen came. They could see no future, excepting in lumber. But there were others who remained be- hind and helped build a new city, a city not founded on sawdust and slabs. MH Jjr ' im -^'^-:M riuj^^^ CITY HALL THEY turned to new industries and have helped to found what is really a new city, no longer dependent upon a single industry for its livelihood, but one which has few equals in the country for the variety of its manufacturing institutions ; one which still has many natural resources at its command, and one whose people have a vision of the future which makes them be- lieve in Bay City. During all these years there had been developing about the city one of the world's oldest and its greatest of industries — the tilling of the soil. Bay County farming was given a wonder- ful impetus by the early adopting of a system of good roads, which enabled the farmer to haul crops to market easily, and then came the sugar beet and chicory industry, which marked the beginning of an epoch of prosperity never before experienced by farmers in this vicinity. Today Bay City is the center of the beet sugar industry of the United States ; the chief point in the growing and preparing of chicory for the market, and in addition the marketing place for the richest truck farming land in the entire state. Her growth commercially and financially since the days of the saw-mill and the lumber camp has exceeded the best years of the old period, and it has been on a permanent basis — an upbuilding instead of that tearing down which must be the only result of the using up of those resources which it takes nature many decades to produce. THE First National Bank developed and grew rapidly, and in 1872 purchased the property at the corner of Center and Washington Avenues, where it erected what was then a very modern banking building. The bank had paid dividends and added to its surplus almost from the first year of its organization, and its capital stock was increased five times in the first ten years, reaching $400,000 in 1873. In 1877 the capital was reduced to $250,000. The bank paid regular annual dividends up to the close of its charter in 1884, these dividends amounting to $427,000. A new bank w^as organized at that time to succeed the First National, and it was named the Bay National. The new bank was composed largely of the stockholders of the old institution, and continued the business practically unchanged. From that time on its prosperity has been continual, and in ad- dition to paying regular dividends, it built up a surplus of $200,000. HE years 1914-15 brought about great changes in Bay City bank- ing institutions in the way of con- solidation and the increase of capital stocks, greatly strengthen- ing them and enabling them to handle business on a scale com- mensurate with the growth of the big com- mercial and manufacturing institutions of the city. The capital of the First National Bank was increased to $200,000, giving it, with its surplus and undivided profits, a working capital of considerably over $400,000. At the same time arrangements were made for a joint ownership of the First National and the Bay County Sav- ings banks, each bank having the same directors and the same stockholders. SPECIAL PASS BOOK FOR the last five years or so the First National Bank ranked high on the honor roll of the National Banks of Michigan, and in 1914 had the honor of ranking first. With the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank, they were one of the first to join the system, making application to do a trust business as well. They are now equipped to do the largest complete banking business in the Saginaw Valley, having a commercial, savings, bond and safe deposit departments. The Bay County Savings Bank was organized in 1884, many of the stockholders of the First National Bank subscribing for stock in the new venture, and Alexander Folsom, a director of the First National, becoming president of the new bank, while John Mulholland, for many years connected with the First National Bank, was its first treasurer and remained in that posi- tion until his death. The new bank started with a capital of $50,000. Quarters on Washington Avenue in the rear of the Central Block, were fitted out for the new financial institution. When the Phoenix Block was constructed, the Bay County Savings Bank moved to offices especially fitted out for it, on the second floor of the building, and it remained there, doing a highly successful busi- ness. In 1905, the bank moved to the Bijou Block, adjoining the Phoenix Block. „?f^-*y-T' ^T?: "^^ • ^ —^-^v^^tj ^ .11.1 i^ „l I I M f . 1 U , l i„t,l I i t I ( I I I U i H H I I I I I I I i I II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I H ,l i , I I 1 l -J — U^ j I 1 , ITH the period of expansion which the financial institutions of Bay City experienced in 1914-15, the Bay County Savings bank pur- chased all the assets of the Lum- berman's State Bank, which had been organized as the Bank of Wenona in 1872, a private bank owned by H. H. Norrington and John S. Taylor, and became a state bank with a capital of 350,000 soon after. With the purchase of the assets of the Lumberman's Bank the Bay County Savings Bank secured a largely increased volume of business, including branch banks on Kosciuszko avenue and in Salzburg, while the business of the Lumber- man's State Bank was continued as the west side office of the Bay County Savings Bank. It had previously established a South End branch on Broadway, and the change gave it four flourishing branches. In the expansion it necessitated the establishment of new systems and methods, hence was added to the large commercial and savings departments a real estate and rural credit department, specializing in rural credits and mortgage loans. This, together with the Safe Deposit Department and Christmas Savings Clubs, the latter two being originated and operated for sev- eral years exclusively by this bank, tend to make up the excellent banking facilities that are offered to our customers. MIDLAND STREET OFFICE VIEW FROM THE MEZZANINE BROADWAY BRANCH T was decided in 1915 between the leading stockholders of the First National Bank and the Bay County Savings Bank to merge the ownership, continuing the banks in their original capacities, one as a national and the other as a state institution, but each having the same board of directors and the same officers, while each stock certificate re- presented a proportionate share in the stock of each bank. Coincident with this consolidation of stock ownership of the banks, plans were matured for the construction of a suitable banking house which would house both institutions. Coincident with the plans for the joint ownership of the First National Bank and the Bay County Savings Bank, the direct- ors took up the subject of providing a suit- able banking house for the two institutions, and finally accepted plans for an exclusive banking building to be erected on the site which had been so long occupied b}' the First National Bank and adjoining property which was purchased for the new building. SALZBURG BRANCH BAY COUNTY SAVINGS BANK POLISH BRANCH 1 ONTRACTS for this building were awarded in the summer of 1915, and on May 22, 1916, the two banks opened their new of- fices. The new building covers a lot with a frontage of S?}/^ feet on Center avenue and 79 feet on Washing- ton avenue. The architecture is of the Ionic order and the material of the exterior is white Bedford stone. The bank is entered through revolving doors, and once inside, one is impressed by the quiet beaut}- of the place. The coun- ters are constructed of Italian Botticinni marble, with the grills at the various coun- ters made of bronze. The high, arched ceilings and long windows give an abun- dance of light in the daytime, and the light- ing plan for the evening is equally as effi- cient. Back of this vault, with an entrance through a small corridor at the right, is the safety deposit vault, guarded by a ten-ton door and containing 396 steel depos- it boxes of various sizes, each box double locked. Convenient to the entrance to the deposit vault are three coupon rooms and a consultine room. LOCATION OF THE BAY COUNTY SAVINGS BANK 1886 FIRST NATIONAL BANK SAFETY DEPOSIT VAULT TEEL fire-proof filing cases and working desks are provide'd throughout the building for the use of tellers, bookkeepers and other employes. A second story is constructed over the vault, and on the right of this is the directors' room, finished in American walnut, overlooking the main corridor through a glass-paneled door, with large windows opening on Washington avenue, while at the left is a convenient room for the use of the Bay City Clearing House. The building is supplied continuously with pure washed air, by means of a Sirocco ventilating system located on the third floor at the rear, while document vaults, toilet rooms and the heating plant are located in the basement. Every feature of the building, in addi- tion to its beauty, gives the impression of strength and solidity found in few banking houses, and certainl}^ excelled by none in Michigan. THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE THE DIRECTORS ROOM SIROCCO VENTILATING SYSTEM '*J W