Who would have thought a city would one day stand where there was nothing
but swamp, with long grass—where there was scarcely an opening in the woods,
and in which the wolves made plenty of howling. This observation was made by
Leon Trombley, one of the first to try to settle in this part of the Michigan
"frontier" in the early 1800s. His nephews, Mader and Joseph, would soon
follow and ultimately become noted among the area's first permanent
residents. The residents of Bay City have always aspired to be legendary,
whether by design, accident, or sheer determination. Annie Edson Taylor,
the area schoolteacher turned daredevil who would ride her Bay City–built
barrel over Niagara Falls (and survive!), is only one among a large group of
local legends that includes Olympic champions, community leaders, artists,
musicians, scholars, philosophers, and historians.
Ron Bloomfield, the director of operations and chief historian of the Bay
County Historical Society, has extensively researched, written, and lectured
about the many nuances of Bay County history and its many legendary
residents. Many of the images chosen for his work are from the extensive
collections of the Bay County Historical Society (founded in 1919), which
manages the Historical Museum of Bay County, where information on Bay
County's past can readily be found in exhibits, publications, and programs.