Davison is a city in
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 so ...
of
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and a suburb of
Flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
. The population was 5,536 at the
2000 census and fell to 5,173 by the 2010 census. Davison is located within
Davison Township survey township area (7N 8E), but is administratively autonomous.
Davison was named after Judge Norman Davison, a judge of Lapeer County and a delegate to state constitution convention of 1835.
He resided in a nearby hamlet formerly known as Davisonville, now known as
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets.
Atlases have traditio ...
.
[
]
History
Davison Station
Township section 3, 9 and 10 was Davison Station, which was first settled in 1842 by Eleazer Thurston in section 10. The line of the Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad (now Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
) through the settlement was finished in 1871 marked the beginning of Davison Station. The first saw mill in the township was also built here that year by Dunn and Darling. The township and the settlement had in 1872 a number of firsts: doctor, L. W. Hanson, merchant Damon Stewart and tavern owned and operated by Henry S. Rising. On , Davison Station post office open[Ellis, David M. Michigan Postal History, The Post Offices 1805-1986. 12-Dec-1993. Via ] with Stewart as the postmaster.[ The Free Will Baptist Church, formed in 1859 at and hosted at Herrick Schoolhouse two miles away, moved to a frame church building in the village in 1872.][
In 1873, a cheese factory and flouring mill opened.][ The Davison Station post office was renamed to just Davison on .][
]
Davison Village
Davison was incorporated as a village on May 20, 1889. On April 30, 1894, part of downtown, dubbed the Rotten Row, caught fire and wiped the section out. By 1895, the village had a Rosemoor Park with a race track used for horse then add cars. In 1916, the village had an auditorium, a state bank, Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges, four churches, the Catholic, the Methodist Episcopal, the Free Methodist and the Baptist. The estimated population was 700.[ Rosemoor Park began in 1919 hold the county fair every year except one until 1938.]
Davison City
Davison separated itself from Davison Township by incorporating as a city on . In 1943, Rosemoor Park closed permanently. The track's owner in 1946 developed a subdivision on the track property.
In January 2010, it was announced that Davison City Manager Dale Martin and Davison Township, Michigan Supervisor Kurt Soper had begun preliminary meetings discussing the possibility of merging the two municipalities.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 5,173 people, 2,371 households, and 1,314 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 2,617.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 94.9% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.8% African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.7% from other races, and 2% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2.9% of the population.
The 2010 census lists 2,371 households, out of which 640 (27%) had children under the age of 18 living with them, 837 (35.3%) were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 349 (14.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, and 1,057 (44.6%) were non-families. 936 (39.5%) of all households were made up of individuals, and 492 (18.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.91. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.8% aged birth to 19, 12.1% from 20 to 29, 12.6% from 30 to 39, 13.1% from 40 to 49, 13% 50 to 59, 11.1% from 60 to 69, and 12.1% who were 70 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years.
According to the American Community Survey, 2010, The median income for a household in the city was $37,793, and the mean income for a household was $48,643. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $23,132. About 14.5% of families and 17.5% of the city 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 ...
, with 26.6% of those being under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The municipality operates its own well water system.
The city has a council-manager government, with the position of city manager currently being held by Andrea Schroeder. The Davison City Council is composed of 7 members, including the mayor. The Mayor of Davison, a position currently held by Tim Bishop, is mostly titular, with most of the executive power being vested in the city manager.
City Council Members
Notable people
* Kathleen Flinn, an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author. Her memoir, ''Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good'' about her life growing up in Davison was named a 2015 Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan.
* Thomas C. Hart, a U.S. Navy admiral and Asiatic Fleet commander during World War II
* Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...
, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, was born in 1954 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Flint, Michigan, spent most of his childhood in Davison, and graduated from Davison High School in 1972.
* Ken Morrow, professional ice hockey defenseman and Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
winner who played in the 1980 Miracle on Ice
The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's ice hockey t ...
game was raised in Davison.
* John Sinclair, poet, human rights activist, manager of the MC5
MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...
, and founder of the anti-racist White Panther Party was raised in Davison.
* Tim Thomas, NHL goalie
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 43, 02, 05, N, 83, 31, 05, W, type:city_region:US-MI, display=title
Cities in Genesee County, Michigan
1842 establishments in Michigan
Populated places established in 1842