In 1849 Pastor Ferdinand Sievers of Bay County purchased over fifteen hundred acres of virgin forest here in Tuscola County to establish a colony of immigrants from revolution-torn Germany. A year later two families under the leadership of Pastor …
One of four Bavarian settlements in the Saginaw Valley was founded here in June 1850, with the arrival of two families and a pastor. Frankenhilf, which means "Help of the Franconians" remained the community name until it later was changed to Richv…