Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan. Located along the Flint River, 66 miles northwest of Detroit, it is a large city in Mid Michigan. According to the 2010 census, Flint has a population of over 1020 thousand people, making it the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the fourth largest metropolitan area in Michigan. The city was incorporated in 1855.
Flint was founded as a village by fur trader Jacob Smith in 1819 and became a major lumbering area on the historic Saginaw Trail during the 19th century. From the late 19th century to the mid 20th century, the city was a leading manufacturer of carriages and later automobiles, earning it the nickname “Vehicle City”. General Motors (GM) was founded in Flint in 1908, and the city grew into an automobile manufacturing powerhouse for GM’s Buick and Chevrolet divisions up until the early 1980s recession.