One of mid-Michigan’s hidden gems reopened this month, allowing visitors to step back in time through its plethora of firehouse memorabilia and antique toys. The Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum opened for the season Saturday, May 3, in Bay County. The museum features one of the world’s largest collections of toy trucks, many of which feature first responder vehicles.
The museum also has a surplus of fire trucks, including everything from horse-drawn apparatuses to Model Ts to more modern vehicles, such as the Bangor Township Telesquirt. The collection includes fire and first responder gems from Bay City, around the Saginaw River, Midland, Detroit and more. Bangor Township’s Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum was created by founder Jimmie Dobson to preserve the history of mid-Michigan fire service and has grown by curating thousands of antique toys and fire equipment. The museum currently boasts more than 60 firefighting apparatus dating back to 1854, and more than 15,000 antique toys. The museum also has a room dedicated to the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society, with an exhibit dedicated to Jupiter, a tanker that caught fire and exploded in September 1990 while unloading gasoline in the Saginaw River.
