Editing Flint Township, Michigan

{{Distinguish|Flint, Michigan}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Flint Township, Michigan
| official_name      = Charter Township of Flint
| other_name         = 
| native_name        = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
| nickname           = 
| motto              = "An ideal place to work. A great place to live"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flinttownship.org/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1|title=Charter Township of Flint, Michigan|publisher=Charter Township of Flint, Michigan|access-date=August 25, 2012|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225233926/http://www.flinttownship.org/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<!-- Images -->| image_skyline      = Flint Township Municipal Building (Michigan).jpg
| imagesize          = 275
| image_caption      = Flint Township Municipal Building
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = <!-- Maps -->
| pushpin_map        = Michigan
| pushpin_label_position = left<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_label      = Flint Township
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the state of Michigan
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| image_map          = Flint Charter Township, MI location.png
| mapsize            = 250
| map_caption        = Location within [[Genesee County, Michigan|Genesee County]]

<!-- Location -->| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Michigan]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Michigan|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Genesee County, Michigan|Genesee]]

<!-- Government -->| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = [[Supervisor]]
| leader_name        = Karyn Miller
| leader_title1      = [[Municipal clerk|Clerk]]
| leader_name1       = Manya Triplett
| leader_title2      = [[Treasurer]]
| leader_name2       = 
| established_title  = Settled
| established_date   = 1835
| established_title2 = Organized
| established_date2  = 1836
| established_title3 = 
| established_date3  = 
| settlement_type    = [[Charter township]]

<!-- Area -->| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 61.2
| area_total_sq_mi   = 23.6
| area_land_km2      = 61.2
| area_land_sq_mi    = 23.6
| area_water_km2     = 0.0
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.0
| area_water_percent = 
| area_urban_km2     = 
| area_urban_sq_mi   = 
| area_metro_km2     = 
| area_metro_sq_mi   = <!-- Population -->
| population_as_of   = [[United States Census, 2020|2020]]
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 31447
| population_density_km2 = 
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
| population_metro   = 
| population_density_metro_km2 = 
| population_density_metro_sq_mi = 
| population_urban   = <!-- General information -->
| timezone           = EST
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| coordinates        = {{coord|42|59|54|N|83|45|17|W|region:US-MI|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m        = 241
| elevation_ft       = 791

<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code|ZIP code(s)]]
| postal_code        = 48433 ([[Flushing, Michigan|Flushing]])<br>48473 ([[Swartz Creek, Michigan|Swartz Creek]])<br>48503, 48504, 48507, 48532, 48551, 48553 ([[Flint, Michigan|Flint]])
| area_code          = [[Area code 810|810]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 26-29020<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 1626286<ref>{{gnis|1626286}}</ref>
| footnotes          = 
| website            = {{URL|www.flinttownship.org}}
}}
The '''Charter Township of Flint''', also known as '''Flint Township''', is a [[charter township]] of [[Genesee County, Michigan|Genesee County]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Michigan]]. The population was 31,447 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Flint_charter_township,_Genesee_County,_Michigan?g=060XX00US2604929020 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> The [[Flint, Michigan|City of Flint]] is adjacent to the township, but the two are administered autonomously.

==Background==
[[Wayne County, Michigan|Wayne County]] was formed within the [[Northwest Territory]] covering the [[Lower Peninsula]].  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.<ref>{{cite book| last = Hayes| first = Yutha| title = Going up the Swartz| publisher = Bicentennial Commission of Swartz Creek| year = 1976 | location = Swartz Creek}}</ref> 
:For additional information, see [[Genesee County, Michigan]] and [[Michigan]].

On March 9, 1833, the [[Grand Blanc Township, Michigan|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.<ref name="hgc">{{cite book| last = Wood| first = Edwin O.| title = History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions| publisher = Michigan Historical Commission| year = 1916| url = http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/lapeer/gen/ch5/pio.html| access-date = 2007-01-16| archive-date = 2006-10-06| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061006120254/http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/lapeer/gen/ch5/pio.html| url-status = dead}}</ref>  The first permanent settlers in the area were Elijah Carmen and his family, who arrived in 1835.<ref name="hgc1">{{cite book|last=Wood|first=Edwin O.|title=History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions|year=1916|publisher=Michigan Historical Commission|url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mi/county/lapeer/gen/ch5/flint.html|access-date=9 November 2011|chapter=Chapter V: Flint Township}}</ref>

== 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>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township has a total area of {{convert|23.6|sqmi|km2}}, 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.
{{Geographic Location (8-way)
 | Centre =  Flint Township 
 | North = [[Mount Morris Township, Michigan|Mount Morris Township]]
 | Northeast = [[Flint, Michigan|Flint]]
 | East = [[Burton, Michigan|Burton]]
 | Southeast = [[Grand Blanc Township, Michigan|Grand Blanc Township]]
 | South =[[Mundy Township, Michigan|Mundy Township]]
 | Southwest = [[Gaines Township, Genesee County, Michigan|Gaines Township]]
 | West = [[Swartz Creek, Michigan|Swartz Creek]]<br>[[Clayton Township, Genesee County, Michigan|Clayton Township]]
 | Northwest = [[Flushing Township, Michigan|Flushing Township]]
 | image =     
}}

==Demographics==
 {{US Census population
| 1960 = 19178
| 1970 = 31175
| 1980 = 35405
| 1990 = 34081
| 2000 = 33691
| 2010 = 31929
| 2020 = 31447
| footnote = Source: Census Bureau. Census [http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MCD1960-1990C_33608_7.pdf 1960-] 2000, 2010.
}}

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 33,691 people, 13,972 households, and 9,025 families residing in the township. The population density was {{convert|1,425.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 14,864 housing units at an average density of {{convert|628.9|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the township was 77.77% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 16.12% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.61% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 2.20% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.02% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.75% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.55% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|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 [[Marriage|married couples]] 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]] for the township was $22,216. About 7.8% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], 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.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! District 
! Number
! Officeholders
|-
! U.S. Representative 
| [[Michigan's 5th congressional district|5th]]
| [[Dan Kildee]]
|-
! State Senate
| [[Michigan's 27th Senate district|27th]]
| [[Jim Ananich]]
|-
! State Representative 
| [[Michigan's 49th House of Representatives district|49th]]
| [[Phil Phelps]]
|-
! County Commissioner
| 2nd (17th Precinct)
| [[Brenda Clack]] 
|-
|
| 4th (12–15, 18, 19 Precincts)
| John W. Northrup
|-
|
| 8th
| Ted Henry
|-
! School District
| [[Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools|Carman-Ainsworth]]
| Multiple: see articles
|-
|
| [[Flushing Community Schools|Flushing]]
| Multiple: see articles
|-
|
| [[Swartz Creek Community Schools|Swartz Creek]]
| Multiple: see articles
|-
! Community College
| [[Mott Community College|C.S. Mott]]
| Multiple; see article
|-
! Polling Location
|
| 
|}

==Infrastructure==

=== Transportation ===
[[Bishop International Airport]] is adjacent to and occupies a portion of Flint Township. The township is served by the [[Flint Mass Transportation Authority|Mass Transportation Authority]] bus lines. In addition, three major highways—[[Interstate 75 in Michigan|I-75]], [[Interstate 69 in Michigan|I-69]] and [[U.S. Route 23 in Michigan|US&nbsp;23]]—which run through the township intersect one mile (1.6&nbsp;km) from Bishop Airport. Also, three major rail lines—[[Canadian National Railway]], [[Lake State Railway]], and [[Huron and Eastern Railway]]—intersect at the township's northern border.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.flinttownship.com/ Charter Township of Flint]

{{Genesee County, Michigan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Charter townships in Michigan]]
[[Category:Townships in Genesee County, Michigan]]
[[Category:1836 establishments in Michigan Territory]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1836]]