Best Web Design in Bangor Charter Township, MI (2026)

Web Design for Bangor Charter Township, Michigan

Bangor Charter Township wraps the northwest edge of Bay City along the Saginaw River and the shore of Saginaw Bay in Bay County. Named by a settler for Bangor, Maine, the township grew through lumbering and coal mining before losing much of its land to the old West Bay City. Today it is best known for John Glenn High School, its cluster of Saginaw Bay beach communities, and Bay City State Park with the vast Tobico Marsh wetland.

AppWT serves Bangor Charter Township and the surrounding Michigan area from Livonia, Michigan.

About Bangor Charter Township

Also known as. Historically platted as "Bangor," renamed "Banks" in 1864. "Wenona" (the adjacent plat laid out in 1871, now part of the West Bay City legacy). Most residents carry a "Bay City" mailing address.

History. Settlement began when Joseph Trombley purchased the township's Section 16 from the federal government in 1834. The community was platted as Bangor in 1851; the name was chosen by mill owner Thomas Whitney, who came from Bangor, Maine, and ran a mill on the east side of the river. Bangor was renamed Banks in 1864; Banks became an incorporated village in 1871, the same year the neighboring Wenona plat was laid out. Bangor Township was formally organized on March 22, 1859, the third township created in Bay County, originally including land that became Frankenlust, Kawkawlin, and Monitor townships. In 1877 Bangor lost a large share of its territory to the newly chartered West Bay City, which merged into Bay City in 1905. In the 1880s the township had three operating coal mines, and the coal-mining village of Bay Side was established in 1899; the 2020 census population was 14,045.

Local economy. Rooted in 19th-century lumber milling along the Saginaw River, then coal mining in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Now a residential township within the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, with retail and services along the Bay City-area commercial corridors. Tourism and lakeshore recreation tied to Saginaw Bay, Bay City State Park, and the beach communities. Public education (Bangor Township Schools) is a significant local institution and employer.

Culture and community. John Glenn High School, opened in 1965 and named for astronaut John Glenn three years after he became the first American to orbit Earth, anchors local identity and sports. The Saginaw Bay shoreline supports boating, fishing, and beach life across a string of named beach settlements. Tobico Marsh and Bay City State Park host birding, environmental education, and seasonal nature programs. The township's Irish-flavored place names (Killarney Beach, Little Killarney Beach) reflect its lakeshore community heritage.

What makes Bangor Charter Township distinct. Its high school is named for John Glenn, and the park district ties the community to space-age Americana rather than its coal-mining past. From 1994 to 2017 Bay City State Park was officially renamed the "Bay City State Recreation Area," then reverted to its original name. Though its legal name is Bangor, generations of residents have been renamed on maps as Banks and Wenona and now simply mail from "Bay City." Much of the township's original 1859 footprint was carved away to build a separate city (West Bay City) that no longer independently exists.

Bangor Charter Township Landmarks and Local Life

• Bay City State Park on Saginaw Bay - with about a mile of sandy beach and the 10,000-square-foot Saginaw Bay Visitor Center
• Tobico Marsh - one of the largest remaining freshwater coastal wetlands on the Great Lakes, with observation towers and boardwalks (roughly 1,900 marsh acres added in 1994)
• John Glenn High School on Kiesel Road.
• The Kawkawlin River - which runs through the township to Saginaw Bay
• Six unincorporated beach communities: Aplin Beach - Donahue Beach, Killarney Beach, Lagoon Beach, Little Killarney Beach, and Tobico Beach