The story of Crow Island goes way back to the treaty of 1819, with the Chippewa Chief Kawkawisou, or as the white settlers referred to him “The Crow”. The Indian chief was given 640 acres on the east side of the Saginaw River, and the island opposite Zillwauke and called Crow Island.
In 1864 the Oneida Salt and Lumber Company built a mill on the Crow Reserve, on the east side of the Saginaw River north of Saginaw in Buena Vista township. A spur line was added to the Pere Marquette Railroad to bring in supplies, and haul out the freshly cut lumber from the mill. In 1882 the sawmill was purchased by Ralph A. Loveland who owned the Saginaw Lumber and Salt Company, which had offices in the Berringer Building. The sawmill was successfully operated by Mr Loveland’s sons, and in 1882 was given a post office, and the town named Crow Island. The town continued to grow with a population of about 800 residents, and had a general store, several homes, and a school with about 60 students attending.
After the timber in the Saginaw valley was cut, Mr Loveland purchased several tracts of land along the Georgian Bay in Canada, and had the logs floated to the mill. The sawdust and the waste from the mill were dumped in the marshes eventually increasing the land around the town. In 1895 a fire broke out in one of the stores in town, and the wind carried the flames to several structures in the town, including a large boarding house, and several homes. I found that the post office was closed in 1895 and I am thinking the fire was the reason why. The Loveland’s continued to operate the mill until 1901 and then moved the mill to Canada to be closer to the timber.
It was in 1914 that a group of investors purchased the island and divided it up into 50 feet by 150 plots to create a resort community, you may remember my post about it HERE. The plans were to have a bridge built to allow access to the island by motor car, but I guess that never came to be. Over time the Saginaw River was changed, and the part of the river that created the island was filled in or dried up, and the island is no longer and island.
The area where the town once stood is part of the Saginaw Waste Water treatment plant and the Buena Vista Sewer department. The old Chippewa Indian reservation is now the Crow Island State Game Area. I tried to find a photo of the old town and drove out to where it once was but there was a gate blocking entrance to the area. The best I could do was get a photo of the railroad tracks where the trains would stop by the old forgotten town.
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