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Saginaw, Saginaw Co., Michigan

Saginaw began as a thriving timber town that became an industrial metropolis in the 20th Century.

Volga German immigrants who settled in Saginaw beginning in 1902 came from the following colonies:

Beideck
Dreispitz
Erlenbach
Holstein
Krasnoyar
Kukkus
Norka
Oberdorf
Paulskaya
Rosenberg
Schilling
Schulz
Shcherbakovka
Stahl am Tarlyk

They were attracted to the area by the sugar beet industry that was being developed in the Saginaw Valley.

Port Huron, Saint Clair Co., Michigan

Volga German immigrants who settled in Port Huron, Michigan, came from Paulskaya and Katharinenstadt. They were joined by settlers from Kind and Susannental.

Nearly all of Port Huron’s Volga Germans had their start in Sanilac County as beet laborers. By 1915 many of Sanilac’s resident Volga Germans had resettled to Port Huron where they transitioned into factory work such as Mueller Brass Company. For several years these families would continue summer beet work or weekend harvest work.