Saginaw county was originally inhabited by the Sauk Indians in the 1600's. Saginaw county is in the eastern middle part of the state, and is bounded on the north by Bay county, on the east by Tuscola county, on the south by Shiawassee county, and on the west by Gratiot county. Saginaw County is divided by the Saginaw river which runs in a north-easterly direction. One possible explanation on the origin of the name is " Sak-e-nong " meaning Sauk-Town after the Sauk (Sac) Indians who once lived there. Salt mining and lumber helped establish the Saginaw Valley economy at the turn of the century(1900). It's now home to General Motors Foundries and Saginaw Gear Plants. Aluminum, bronze, gray iron, boilers, chemicals and fertilizers are a few of Saginaw County 's industries. It is also known for Frankenmuth, Christmas Capital of the World.

Frankenmuth is located in southeastern Saginaw County . It was given its name from Franconia, a region of Bavaria , and " muth ," which in German means: "courage," thus the city name Frankenmuth means "courage of the Franconians ". Frankenmuth is known for many festivals held year-round -including the World Expo of Beer which features beer from breweries around the world. The area has had several breweries in and out of operation over the years and here is an interesting fact about the Geyer Brothers Brewery. In 1939-1940 at a time that was Pre-World War 2 Geyer Brothers   beer bottle label contained, in Germen the slogan, " Ist Gut Für Sie ," translated in English means "It's good for you".   Due to the war with Germany , the government stepped in and told the brewery the German writing had to be taken off the label. The Geyer family, being traditional frugal Germans, couldn't see wasting the labels, so they " X'd " out the slogan and continued to use the labels. The United States Government found another problem along the Same lines with another Geyer Brothers Label.   It contained a picture that contains a Flag shield on an Eagle, the government didn't want old glory on the chest of what was considered a "German Eagle", so the brewery had to remove it. Nearby you will find Birch Run, one of the biggest outlet malls in the country. Birch Run was originally founded as a station on the Pere Marquette Railroad in1852. It was named after its creek, which runs through a large birch area. In 1863, the town was renamed Deer Lick until 1868 when it reverted back to Birch Run. Saginaw County contains nine hundred square miles, with fishing opportunities along the Saginaw River and the adjacent Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge anglers find this a haven.