Editing Flint Township, Michigan (section)

== History ==
Flint Township was organized on March 2, 1836, and included the township areas of [[Burton, Michigan|Burton]], [[Clayton Township, Genesee County, Michigan|Clayton]], [[Flushing Township, Michigan|Flushing]], [[Mount Morris Township, Michigan|Mt. Morris]], [[Genesee Township, Michigan|Genesee]], [[Thetford Township, Michigan|Thetford]], [[Vienna Township, Genesee County, Michigan|Vienna]] and [[Montrose Township, Michigan|Montrose]].<ref name="hgc"/>  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.<ref name="hgc1"/> 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! settlement !! section !! founder !! year
|-
| Torrey || 24 || Jesse Torrey || 1836 
|-
| Dye || 20 || Reuben Dye || 1843
|-
| Ultey ||  ||  || 
|-
| Cronk ||  7, 8 || James W. Cronk || 1837
|-
| Stanard || 35 || William N. Stanard || 1836
|-
| Carter ||  ||  || 
|-
| Crocker ||  ||  || 
|}<ref name="hgc1"/>

On March 11, 1837, Vienna Township was organized to include the future townships of Montrose and Thetford.<ref name="hgc"/>  James W. Cronk in 1837 settled on sections 7 and 8 lending his name to the settlement there.<ref name="hgc1"/>

Genesee and Flushing Townships where split off on March 6, 1838.<ref name="hgc"/>  In 1838 the first schoolhouse was built in Flint Township in Section 23 on the bank of Swartz Creek.<ref name="hgc1"/> As many as ten school districts were created. within the township,<ref name="hgc1"/>

On April 19, 1839, [[Kearsley Township, Michigan|Kearsley Township]] was split off from Flint Township<ref name="hgc"/> until March 7, 1843, when it was merged back into Flint Township.<ref name="Elis">{{cite book| last =Ellis | first =Franklin | title =History of Genesee county, Michigan. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers.| publisher =Everts & Abbott | year =1879 | location =Philadelphia, PA. | page =345 | url =http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=micounty;cc=micounty;sid=bc2e9508b2f4f83b0bb57f56ffd896b4;q1=Burton;q2=Genesee;op2=and;op3=and;rgn=pages;idno=bad0919.0001.001;view=image;seq=507;page=root;size=s;frm=frameset; }}</ref> The Crockersville post office under its name sake postmaster George Crocker on August 21, 1843.<ref name=mpn>{{cite book|last1=Romig|first1=Walter|title=Michigan Place Names|date=1973|publisher=Wayne State University Press|page=140|isbn=9780814318386|edition=illustrated, reprint|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-FPXEGRo-YC&q=Crocker&pg=PA140|access-date=September 29, 2016}}</ref>

In 1855, Burton Township on October 12 separated from the Township<ref name="hgc"/> and the [[Flint, Michigan|City of Flint]] was incorporated, thus splitting its area from the Township. The Township was then temporarily known as Garland Township<ref>{{cite book |title=Historical Collections |year=1907 |publisher=Michigan State Historical Society, Michigan Historical Commission |page=362 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RhUUAAAAYAAJ&q=Garland+Flint+Township&pg=PA362 }}</ref> after Burton was split off on October 12, 1855, to February 5, 1856.<ref name="Elis"/>

The unincorporated village of [[Swartz Creek, Michigan#Otterburn|Otterburn]] was given a station on the Grand Trunk Railroad in 1882 then a Post Office on August 27, 1887.<ref>{{cite book | last = Romig | first = Walter  | year = 1986 | title = Michigan Place Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-FPXEGRo-YC&q=Otterburn | orig-year=1973 | publisher = Wayne State University Press | location = Detroit, Michigan | isbn = 0-8143-1838-X |page=423}}</ref> On January 9, 1862, the Crockersville post office was closed down.<ref name=mpn/>

In 1950s, GM executive started a "New Flint" regional/metropolitan government plan to incorporate the metropolitan area into Flint.<ref name="dmp">{{cite book|last1=Highsmith|first1=Andrew R.|title=Demolition Means Progress: Flint, Michigan, and the Fate of the American|date=July 6, 2015|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226050058|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJXICQAAQBAJ&q=%22New+Flint%22&pg=PA138|page=122,123,139|access-date=July 13, 2016}}</ref> In 1953, the Township began incorporation discussions as the City of Westhaven, but that possibility was later defeated.<ref>{{cite news |title=Flint Township forms committee to discuss potential name change, becoming city |author=Roberto Acosta |url=http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/05/flint_township_forms_committee.html |newspaper=The Flint Journal |date=May 6, 2012 |access-date=7 May 2012}}</ref> The metro government proposal was released in 1957 and petition began circulating the next year. Township supervisor John R. Dickenson condemn the plan.<ref name="dmp"/>

Area residents were fearful that the New Flint would take the Otterburn plant into its borders. While New Flint proponents indicated 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, Michigan|Swartz Creek]] upon its incorporation<ref name="dmp"/> in 1959.

After the City of Flint annexed the GM Van Slyke plant and the city's [[Bishop International Airport|Bishop Airport]] in the 1970s, the Township put 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.<ref name=fj20>{{cite web |url=http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1970/1970main.html  |title=Genesee Valley becomes new 'downtown' for Flint area]. |work=[[Flint Journal]] |publisher=Booth Newspapers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224041219/http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1970/1970main.html |archive-date=February 24, 2011}}</ref> In August 1970, [[Genesee Valley Center]] opened at Miller and Linden Roads.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1970/1970valley.html |title=Journal of the 20th Century: Trip through just-opened Genesee Valley reveals a brand-new world of shopping |access-date=2007-12-17 |last=Sanders |first=Rhonda |work=[[The Flint Journal]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321190539/http://www.flintjournal.com/20thcentury/1970/1970valley.html |archive-date=March 21, 2012}}</ref>