Bay Archives - Lost In Michigan

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Polish refugees who escaped Prussian domination settled in Bay City. In 1874 they formed a society under the patronage of St. Stanislaus Kostka of Poland. To fill the needs of this Polish-speaking community, a wooden church was built and dedicated on December 13, 1874, on a site donated by William D. Fitzhugh. During the pastorate of Father Marian Matkowski, this grand Neo-Gothic church was erected at a cost of over $60,000. Bay City architects Pratt and Koeppe provided the plans. The cornerstone was blessed in June 24, 1890, and the church was dedicated on July 17, 1892, by Bishop Henry J. Richter of Grand Rapids.

St. Stanislaus Bay City Michigan

Michigan Historical Marker

First Presbyterian Church in Bay City

In 1848, James G. Birney and his wife led Bay City’s earliest Presbyterian services in a schoolhouse. Birney twice ran unsuccessfully for president of the U.S. on the antislavery ticket. The Reverend Lucius Root organized the First Presbyterian Church of Lower Saginaw on September 5, 1856. Services continued to be held in the schoolhouse and other public buildings until the first church was built in 1863. In 1886 church elder Alexander Folsom donated $50,000 for the founding of a college in “northern” Michigan. His donation funded the organization of Alma College. In 1906 the college established the J. Ambrose Wight Memorial scholarship fund in honor of First Presbyterian’s minister.

In 1884 the Reverend J. Ambrose Wight challenged the members of the First Presbyterian Church to “go forward and build a church that will be a lasting gift to the future.” The Reverend Wight (1811 – 1889) feared that Bay City’s prosperity, gained through the lumber and salt industries, would not last. When the church was dedicated on June 4, 1893, the Bay City Times-Press declared it a “Magnificent Temple.” Like the City Hall, which was build four years later, the Ionia sandstone church was designed in the Richardsonian style by local architects Pratt and Koeppe, and reflects Bay City’s wealth at that time. The bell, cast in 1866, served as a public timepiece and tolled three times daily.

First Presbyterian Church 805 Center Ave Bay City Michigan

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St. Stanislaus – Michigan Historical Marker

First Presbytiran Church in Bay City