FLINT, a city of Michigan, U.S.A., on the Flint river, Tom. N.W. of Detroit; the county seat of Genesee county, the third city of the State in size and the second in value of manufactures, and the second of the world in production of automobiles. It is on Federal highways io and 23, and is served by the Grand Trunk and the Pere Marquette railways. The population was 91,599 in 1920 (81.6% native white and 129 males to zoo females) and 156,492 in 1930. The area of the city is about 3o sq.m., and the assessed valuation of property in 1927 was $176,477,939. The State school for the deaf (established 1854) is here. There are 40 public parks, with a total area of over 1,000 acres. Most of the schools, homes, hotels and business buildings have been built since 1900, over half of them since the World War. Since 1917 develop ment has been guided by a city planning board. The present in dustrial life of Flint centres around the several subsidiaries of the General Motors corporation which have been established in the city since 1904, including the companies making the Buick and the Chevrolet cars, and bodies, springs, spark plugs and other motor accessories. This group of industries employed in 1928 over 47,000 persons. Other large concerns manufacture such contribu tory articles as carburetors, paints, varnishes and colours, axles and malleable castings. The aggregate output of the factories in 1927 was valued at $600,355,781.
A trading post was established here, at "the grand traverse of the Flint," in 1819 by Jacob Smith, a fur trader from Detroit ; and in 1830 John Todd, a Pontiac storekeeper, bought 785ac. of land for $80o as a speculation, settling here with his family. The little village was made the judicial seat of Genesee county in two years before Michigan became a State, and was incorporated as a city in 1855. In 1860 the population was 2,95o. The city grew gradually until 1900, when it had a population of 13,103. The fur trade was followed by lumbering as the dominating in dustry, and that in turn by the manufacture of wagons, carts. buggies and carriages, and Flint was known as "the vehicle city" long before an automotive vehicle had been made. The automobile industry dates from 1904, when the Buick Motor Company was established. By 1910 the population had jumped to 38,55o, almost three times that of 1900; between 1910 and 1920 the increase was 138%, and in the next eight years (using the local estimate of 1928 for the computation) 58% more. Annexations of territory between 19ro and 1925 increased the area 135%. The value of the manufactured products in 1925 was about 18 times the figure for 1909. Postal receipts in 1926 were over 5o times as much as in 191o. The industrial development necessitated a parallel activity in the building of homes, schools, banks, department stores, theatres and office buildings, and in street paving and lighting, ex pansion of the public utilities, and of the various city services for the protection of life, health and property. The per caput expense for the operation and maintenance of the general city departments increased from $15.10 in 1918 to $28.19 in 1927.