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Genesee
County
Located in
Mid-Michigan
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Communities
Argentine Township
Atlas Township
Burton
Clio
Davison
Flint
Flushing
Gaines
Genesee
Goodrich
Grand
Blanc
Lake
Fenton
Linden
Montrose
Mt.
Morris
Mundy
Otisville
Rankin
Richfield
Township
Swartz
Creek
Thetford Township,
see Clio
Vienna
Township
Local History
Organized on March 28, 1835.
Jenisheyuh - Beautiful Valley.
From Chenussio Indian Tribe
Enacted by the Legislature Council of the Territory of Michigan on March 28,
1835 a new county by the name of Genesee is formed.
Named by settlers emigrating from a county of the same name of Genesee from
Western New York. The name originally belonged to the "Chenussio"
tribe of Indians, from the Iroquois Confederacy - JE-NIS-HE-YUH, meaning
beautiful valley.
On March 8, 1836, the Legislature of the State of Michigan took official
action, creating an independent Genesee County with its own courts and elected
governmental officials. These legislative actions actually took place
before our state was admitted to the Union.
County Development
Genesee County development can generally be divided into five
eras as follows:
The Pioneer Era --- 1830 - 1850
The Farming Era --- 1850 - 1870
The Lumbering Era --- 1860 - 1880
The Carriage Era --- 1870 - 1910
The Auto Era --- 1910 -
Pioneer Era - 1830 - 1850
Early settlers usually settled where the lands were easy to
cultivate. Wheat was an important staple product to many early
settlers. In 1871 wheat harvested in the Genesee County area reached
1,000,000 bushels, a peak year.
The Farming Era - 1850-1870
After reaching the point where early settlers were able to
survive on their crops the area farmers began to produce for a wider
market. Hay, stock, sugar beets, beans and dairy cattle were
introduced with good results.
Wool was a very important cash crop. The first sheep
were introduced by farmers in the Grand Blanc area.
David Halsey of Grand Blanc, Elisha Larned and Adonijah
Atherton introduced the first full-blooded shorthorn cattle to our county.
Governor Henry H. Crapo, owner of the Crapo Farm in Grand
Blanc, introduced pure-blood hereford.
The Lumbering Era - 1860 - 1880
Lumbering was an untapped resource. In the 1850
Census, Flint had two saw mills which produced 3.5 million board feet of
lumber.
Production steadily increased until the height of the
Lumbering Era (1869-71) when 9 saw mills lined the Flint River. These
mills employed 500 men and were capable of producing 90,000,000 board feet
of lumber annually.
The Carriage Era - 1870 - 1910
Edmund Miles arrived from New York state in 1839.
Advised from his brother to come to Flint because "we have some very extravagant
people here who think nothing of paying $800 for a span of horses, we have
timber here for wagons of the very best quality."
Soon after other wagon and carriage makers arrived.
Two of the most significant began manufacturing in the 1880's: the
Flint Wagon Works and the Durant-Dort Carriage Company.
Carriage making began to revolve around the "big
three". W.A. Paterson, The Flint Wagon Works and Durant-Dort
Carriage Company. Producing over 100,000 vehicles annually, they
earned Flint the self-proclaimed title of "VEHICLE CITY" in 1905.
The Auto Era - 1910
Judge Charles Wisner made the first car in Flint and drove
it in a Labor Day parade on September 3, 1900.
Credit for the first production on autos for sale belongs to
A.B.C. Hardy formed the Flint Automobile Company and began assembling the
Flint Roadster. See it on display at the Sloan
Museum.
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