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B+History
History · Flint Township

Flint Township dates to 1818, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns · #236 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Flint Township was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1919 on, and the census since 1850.

1818founded
5on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Flint Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Flint Township began

When was Flint Township founded?

1818

Flint Township dates its founding to 1818 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 1,670 in 18502020 census: 31,447208 years

How historic is Flint Township?

B+

More historic than 65% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Flint Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Flint Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #236 of 701 in Michigan. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Flint Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1818, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.3% of homes (±1.5) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register5 listings, 1.6 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 65%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 66%

Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Flint Township’s 1.6 sits above most of its state (68% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 5 listings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1818.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Flint Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages11 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 196,940 in 1960; 81,252 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19195 editions of the USGS map, 1919 to 1975. Watch Flint Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Flint Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Flint Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHurley Hospital: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Estates of Genesee Valley Mobile Home ParkFisherman's Cove Mobile Home ParkHeather Hill Estates Mobile Home ParkLinden Place Mobile Home CourtMyrtle Grove Mobile Home ParkPasadena Mobile Home ParkPheasant Run Mobile Home ParkSouth Valley Estates Mobile Home ParkVilla Estates Mobile Home ParkWest Haven Mobile Home ParkWestwood Village Mobile Home Park
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Flint Township
BristolCronkFlint CityNew Calvary CatholicRiver RestSunset Hills

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Flint Township, census by census

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000200,000220,0001850190019502000Peak: 196,940

Peaked at 196,940 in 1960; 81,252 people lived here in 2020.

18 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Flint Township’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Flint Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Flint Township.

Read it all →

The region was home to several Ojibwe tribes at the start of the 19th century, with a particularly significant community established near present-day Montrose. The Flint River had several convenient fords which became points of contention among rival tribes, as attested by the presence of nearby arrowheads and burial mounds. Some of the city currently resides atop ancient Ojibwe burial grounds.

Chapters19th century: lumber and the beginnings of the automobile industryEarly and mid-20th century: the auto industry takes shapeLate 20th century: deindustrialization and demographic changes21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Flint Township, 1818 to 1960

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1818
    FoundingFlint Township is established
  3. 1860BuiltHouse at 5556 Flushing Road is built
  4. 1878BuiltHouse at 4305 South Linden Road is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909In the archiveHurley Hospital
  7. 1913In the archiveWeston - Mott Co. employees
  8. 1919On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 196,940
By decade

Flint Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s3 items
Hurley Hospital1909Hurley HospitalWeston - Mott Co. employees1913Weston - Mott Co. employeesS[outh] Saginaw St[reet]1915S[outh] Saginaw St[reet]
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Flint Township on the map, 1919 to 1975

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Flint Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Flint Township on the 1919 USGS mapFlint Township on the 1921 USGS mapFlint Township on the 1943 USGS mapFlint Township on the 1969 USGS mapFlint Township on the 1975 USGS map1919Burt sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Flint Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hurley Hospital
Retake this viewHurley Hospital, 1909

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Flint Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Flint Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Daniel O'Sullivan House/Halfway House
Daniel O'Sullivan House/Halfway HouseHouse at 4305 South Linden Road, built 1878House at 5556 Flushing Road, built 1860Robert Aitkan Farm HouseWilliam Carmer House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
Queen Anne1
Gothic1
Italianate1
Daniel O'Sullivan House/Halfway HouseBuilding
House at 4305 South Linden RoadQueen Anne · Built 1878
House at 5556 Flushing RoadGreek Revival · Built 1860
Robert Aitkan Farm HouseItalianate
William Carmer HouseGreek Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Flint27 historic placesA+Swartz Creek1 historic placeBClayton TownshipIts storyCMount Morris TownshipIts storyCMundy Township1 historic placeBBurtonIts storyB−

Questions about Flint Township’s history

What year was Flint Township founded?

In 1818, according to Wikidata. the census of 1850 counted 1,670 people here.

How does Flint Township rank for history?

Flint Township is more historic than 65% of U.S. towns, #236 of 701 in Michigan. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Flint Township?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Daniel O'Sullivan House/Halfway House (listed 1982, the first).

How old are the homes in Flint Township?

5% of Flint Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1970.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (9), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.