The Charter Township of Flint, also known as Flint Township, is a

charter township A charter township is a form of local government in the U.S. state of Michigan. Townships in Michigan are organized governments. A charter township has been granted a charter, which allows it certain rights and responsibilities of home rule that ...

of Genesee County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The population was 31,929 at the 2010 census. The City of Flint is adjacent to the township, but the two are administered autonomously.

Background

Wayne County was formed within the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

covering the

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

. The Saginaw Valley Treaty was signed with the Chippewa Indians in 1819. In 1836, the Pewanigo tribe of the Saginaw Indians sign a treaty with the US government that gave all remaining land in Genesee County for 13 sections of land west of the Mississippi River with the land to be sold for the Indians' benefits. :For additional information, see

Genesee County, Michigan Genesee County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 406,211, making it the fifth-most populous county in Michigan. The county seat and population center is Flint (birthplace of General Motors) ...

and

. On March 9, 1833, the Township of Grand Blanc was organized which then included Flint Township survey area and many of the other survey township areas of the future Genesee County. The first permanent settlers in the area were Elijah Carmen and his family, who arrived in 1835.

History

Flint Township was organized on March 2, 1836, and included the township areas of Burton, Clayton, Flushing, Mt. Morris, Genesee,

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,34 ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and Montrose. Jesse Torrey and his family, the second settlers, move to section 24 starting the Torrey Settlement in 1836. That same year, William N. Stanard founded the Stanard Settlement on section 35. On March 11, 1837, Vienna Township was organized to include the future townships of Montrose and Thetford. James W. Cronk in 1837 settled on sections 7 and 8 lending his name to the settlement there. Genesee and Flushing Townships where split off on March 6, 1838. In 1838 the first schoolhouse was built in Flint Township in Section 23 on the bank of Swartz Creek. As many as ten school districts were created. within the township, On April 19, 1839, Kearsley Township was split off from Flint Township until March 7, 1843 when it was merged back into Flint Township. The Crockersville post office under its name sake postmaster George Crocker on August 21, 1843. In 1855, Burton Township on October 12 separated from the Township and the City of Flint was incorporated, thus splitting its area from the Township. The Township was then temporarily known as Garland Township after Burton was split off on October 12, 1855 to February 5, 1856. The unincorporated village of Otterburn was given a station on the Grand Trunk Railroad in 1882 then a Post Office on August 27, 1887. On January 9, 1862, the Crockersville post office was closed down. In 1950s, GM executive started a "New Flint" regional/metropolitan government plan to incorporate the metropolitan area into Flint. In 1953, the Township began incorporation discussions as the City of Westhaven, but that possibility was later defeated. The metro government proposal was released in 1957 and petition began circulating the next year. Township supervisor John R. Dickenson condemn the plan. Area residents were fearful of the New Flint would take the Otterburn plant into its borders. While New Flint proponents indicated that that would not be the case, Swartz Creek area residents campaigned against New Flint while moving to incorporate the area. The Township lost the Otterburn area to the City of Swartz Creek upon its incorporation in 1959. After the City of Flint annexed the GM Van Slyke plant and the city's Bishop Airport in the 1970s, the Township place on the ballot an incorporation question that would have made it the City of Grandview Heights. Another item on the ballot was the election of a mayor for the new city. The incorporation question failed, while the then Township Supervisor Tom Mansour won the mayoral election. In August 1970, Genesee Valley Center opened at Miller and Linden Roads.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the township has a total area of , all land. The Township is mostly an L-shape around the southwest side of the City of Flint and split in two along I-69/I-75 interchange south along Bishop Airport to Mundy Township.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,691 people, 13,972 households, and 9,025 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 14,864 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 77.77%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 16.12%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, 0.61% Native American, 2.20% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

, 0.75% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...

or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population. There were 13,972 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.94. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $39,718, and the median income for a family was $48,763. Males had a median income of $41,449 versus $26,933 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the township was $22,216. About 7.8% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The governmental unit responsible for most K-12 education in the township is Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools, with Swartz Creek Community Schools and Flushing Community Schools serving parts of the township.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Bishop International Airport Bishop International Airport is a commercial and general aviation airport located in Flint, Michigan, United States. It is named after banker and General Motors board member Arthur Giles Bishop (April 12, 1851 – January 22, 1944), who donat ...

is adjacent to and occupies a portion of Flint Township. The township is served by the Mass Transportation Authority bus lines. In addition, three major highways—

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, ...

and US 23—which run through the township intersect one mile (1.6 km) from Bishop Airport. Also, three major rail lines—

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

Lake State Railway Lake State Railway is a railroad operating in the Saginaw Valley and northeastern quadrant of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The railroad moves large quantities of aggregate and limestone, as well as coal, grain, and chemical products. Some o ...

, and

Huron and Eastern Railway Huron and Eastern Railway is a short line railroad operating of track in The Thumb and Flint/Tri-Cities area of the lower peninsula of Michigan. It is currently owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc., who purchased it from RailAmerica in 2012. Its ...

—intersect at the township's northern border.

References

External links

Charter Township of Flint
{{Authority control Charter townships in Michigan Townships in Genesee County, Michigan 1836 establishments in Michigan Territory Populated places established in 1836