Flint (pop. 81,252; met. area pop. 406,211) is one of the largest cities in Michigan. Flint is a leading producer of automotive parts. General Motors Corporation, one of the world’s largest automakers, was founded in Flint. The city lies on the Flint River, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.
The Flint Cultural Center campus near downtown is home to a number of attractions. They include an art school and museum, a history and science museum, a music school, a performing arts center, a planetarium, a theater, and the main public library. Educational institutions in the city include Kettering University and the University of Michigan-Flint.
Flint is the county seat of Genesee County. The city has a mayor-council form of government.
Jacob Smith, a fur trader from Detroit, arrived in what is now the Flint area in 1819. He was the first white settler in the area. At that time, Indigenous (native) Ojibwe people, also called Chippewa, lived there. Smith built a trading post at a spot where Indigenous people crossed the Flint River. During the 1830’s, the Flint River settlement developed in the area. Flint was incorporated as a city in 1855.
Vast white pine forests near Flint attracted lumber companies during the mid-1800’s, and the city became a center of lumber milling. By 1900, Flint’s factories were making over 100,000 wooden road carts and carriages a year, and Flint became known as the Vehicle City. The Mott Foundation was founded in Flint in 1926. It has helped finance many civic improvements in the city (see Mott Foundation).
Flint’s automobile industry began to grow rapidly after 1903, when the Buick Motor Company moved from Detroit to Flint. William C. Durant, a Flint carriage manufacturer, took control of Buick in 1904. He founded General Motors (GM) in Flint in 1908 and moved the Chevrolet Motor Company’s manufacturing operations from Detroit to Flint in 1912.
The automobile industry drew thousands of workers to the city, and Flint’s population rose from 13,000 in 1900 to 156,000 in 1930. Flint continued to grow as the automobile industry expanded in the mid-1900’s. But Flint experienced high unemployment during periods of decline in automobile sales.
A major renewal program that began in the late 1970’s helped modernize Flint’s downtown area. The program included construction of a large hotel and Riverbank Park. The park features fountains, walkways, and a bandstand on an island.
In the 1980’s, GM began closing many of its factories in Flint as U.S. automobile makers faced strong competition from international manufacturers. In 1998, GM moved Buick’s headquarters back to Detroit after 95 years in Flint. In 1999, GM closed the huge Buick assembly center in Flint.
The reduction of the GM presence in Flint led to high unemployment and a shrinking tax base. By the beginning of the 2000’s, the municipal government was deeply in debt. In early 2002, the city recalled its mayor, in part for financial mismanagement. In July, the state of Michigan appointed a financial manager to take control of Flint’s government. The financial manager returned control to the city in 2004.
The state took over Flint’s finances again in 2011. Flint had long paid Detroit for its water supply, and officials planned the construction of a state-operated water supply line. In 2014, before the line was completed, state-appointed officials temporarily switched the city’s water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Residents soon complained about the color, smell, and taste of the water. It was determined that Flint’s lead water pipes required special treatment to keep the river water from corroding them, but officials had neglected to take such measures. Dangerous levels of lead were soon found in the city’s drinking supply. Late in 2015, Flint switched back to Detroit water. Flint lead levels, however, remained elevated. In 2016, state authorities activated the National Guard to distribute drinking water in Flint.
In 2020, Michigan paid $600 million to settle civil lawsuits filed by Flint residents affected by the water crisis. The settlement released from liability all state employees named in civil suits. The state also invested $500 million to fund water infrastructure improvements in Flint and other Michigan communities. In 2021, state prosecutors charged several former Michigan officials with crimes related to the water crisis. Former Governor Rick Snyder faced two counts of willful neglect, both misdemeanors. In 2022, however, the state Supreme Court ruled that the charges had been issued improperly.
