Bay County is named for Saginaw Bay as the county is located at the head of the bay.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Arenac County
E – Huron County and Tuscola County
S – Saginaw County
W – Midland County and Gladwin County
Created: February 17, 1857 
County Seat:
Bay City 1857 – present
County Courthouse – Bay City
Location: 515 Center Avenue / North Madison Avenue
Built: 1933 – 1934
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Joseph C Goddeyne of Bay City
Contractor: Bay City Stone Company
Description: The building faces south and is a eight story limestone, granite and steel structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Bay City. The south entrance projects from the main building which rises in tiers with a higher center section. In the interior there is Art Deco ornamentation and bronze elevator doors. The front foyer and first floor corridor have molded edge marble panels lining the walls and a decoratively colored, tile-edged terrazzo floor. The building had a total of seven courtrooms. The main courtroom was located on the fourth story and is now the Commissioners Meeting Room. Behind the former judge’s bench are two bas-relief figures and the courtroom has a large balcony along three sides on the fifth story. building was renovated in 1984 to 1986. The architect was Wakely/Hacker Associates Inc. and the contractor was Charles C Engelhardt Construction Inc. In 1998, the courts were moved to the County Court Facility Building.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Bay County Courthouse
County Court Facility Building – Bay City
Location: 1230 Washington Avenue / 2nd Street
Built: 1997 – 1998
Style: Modern
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces south and is a one story buff colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building originally house county offices and the east section was remodeled for the County Court house. The building is located in the Washington Park Plaza south. The building has small windows and a flat roof.
History: The county was created in 1857 and Bay City was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a wooden structure on Water Street rented from James Fraser from 1858 to 1868. The second courthouse was designed by Cyrus Kinne Porter of Buffalo, New York and built by George Watkins of Bay City at a cost of $42,000. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1933 to 1934 at a cost of $340,000. In 1997 to 1998, the cost of renovation the Court Facility Building was $6,000,000.
County Courthouse – Bay City
County Court Facility Building – Bay City
Photios taken 2008