page_title: Saginaw, Michigan
section_title: Expansion and growth
hierarchical_section_title: Saginaw, Michigan / History / 20th century / Expansion and growth
caption_attribution_description: English: East side of Saginaw River, Downtown Saginaw 1930
context_page_description: Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of the Great Lakes Bay Region, along with neighboring Bay City, Midland and Mount Pleasant. The Saginaw County MSA had a population of 196,542 in 2013. The city is also the largest municipality in the Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City Metropolitan Area, which has a combined population of 391,569 in the combined statistical area.
  Saginaw was a thriving lumber town in the 19th century and an important industrial city and manufacturing center throughout much of the 20th century. During the late 20th century, its industry and strong manufacturing presence declined, leading to increased unemployment, crime, and a population decline. Neighboring communities, such as Saginaw Charter Township, saw subsequent population increases while the city itself is projected to return to normal population growth after the decades-long structural changes to the economy.
context_section_description: During much of the 20th century, Saginaw's economy was dominated by manufacturing related to the automotive industry; most notably, manual transmission assemblies, steering gear boxes and power steering pumps. At the height of manufacturing in the 1960s and 1970s, the city and neighboring Buena Vista Township hosted 12 General Motors plants, an Eaton Manufacturing plant (demolished 2008) where 5,000 people produced auto parts, and numerous smaller concerns.
  The General Motors plants in the county were:
  The original Jackson-Wilcox factory on Saginaw's North Hamilton (ca. 1906), later Saginaw Steering Gear Plant 1, closed 1984, sold by GM in 1987 to Thomson Industries, still operating as of 2009.
  Chevrolet Saginaw Parts at Sixth and Washington on Saginaw's East Side, built in 1906 as the assembly plant of the Rainier Motor Car Company, acquired by GM in 1907. Closed 1983, demolished 1984.
  Saginaw Malleable Iron on the Southwest Side (1917). Contracted to build gear housings for GM's Jacox division (the former Jackson Wilcox company, later Saginaw Steering Gear), sold to GM in 1919, later part of Saginaw Products Division, reorganized into a new Central Foundry Division in 1946. Closed May 2007, razed in 2010 and for sale as of May 2013 by the RACER Trust, charged with disposing of abandoned GM properties.
  Chevrolet Grey Iron, on the North Side of Saginaw, opened as Central Foundry in 1918, operated by Chevrolet Division 1927–1983, thereafter by GM Powertrain Division. Operating today as Saginaw Metal Casting Operations, the only GM manufacturing division still operating in Saginaw County.
  Chevrolet Saginaw Transmission on East Genesee in Saginaw, built 1919–20 for the Michigan Crankshaft Company, acquired by GM in 1921 and placed under Saginaw Products. Transferred to Chevrolet upon the dissolution of the Crankshaft Division (ca. 1927). Home of the Saginaw 3-speed and 4-speed manual transmissions. Transferred to the Delco Moraine Division in 1984, which became Delphi Automotive in 1995. After 2007, leased and later purchased outright by TRW Automotive, operating as TRW Braking and Suspension until closing in February 2014.
  Saginaw Steering Gear Plant 2, the "Gun Plant" (see below) adjacent to Malleable Iron; opened March 1941, closed July 2001, razed 2002. For sale by RACER Trust as of May 2013.
  The 400-acre Saginaw Steering Gear complex in Buena Vista Township. Plant 3 opened 1953 next to the then-new US-23 bypass, adding Plants 4, 5 and 6 by 1966 and a seventh shortly thereafter. Later known as Saginaw Division, then part of Delphi, sold in 2010 to Nexteer Corporation, is supplying GM, Ford and Chrysler as of 2013.
  Chevrolet Nodular Iron in Buena Vista Township, built 1964–1965, entered production 1967, announced for closure 1986, closed 1988; since demolished. Property for sale by RACER Trust as of May 2013.
  Before the United States entered World War II, Saginaw's industrial complex became directed towards military production. Turning its efforts to the production of munitions, ordnance and components for military vehicles made Saginaw a significant contributor to the Allies' victory. Saginaw was home to a production facility that produced .30 caliber machine guns more quickly and at lower cost than the Army thought possible, armor-piercing shells for anti-tank use, and more than half a million M1 carbine rifles for the US military during World War II, the "Gun Plant" that later became Steering Gear Plant 2. Saginaw Steering Gear's Plant 1 also began wartime production in 1941, concentrating on ball screws that would eventually be used in the wing flaps of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. Malleable Iron converted its production of Armasteel from engine components to gun parts and tank treads, while Grey Iron specialized in the production of magnesium for use in Pratt and Whitney aeroplane engines.
  Migration from across the country, particularly from the Southern United States, drastically increased Saginaw's population during the war years and through the 1950s. This population growth included the expanded presence of Afr
caption: Aerial View of Downtown Saginaw in 1930
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