Grand Blanc, Michigan

"Grand Blanc" redirects here. For the California/French wine grape also known as Grand Blanc, see Burger (grape). For another wine grape that is also known as Grand Blanc, see Crouchen. For the historical upper-class white colonists in French Saint-Domingue sometimes known as "Grands Blancs", see Haitian Revolution § Situation in 1789.

Grand Blanc, Michigan
City
City of Grand Blanc
Water tower overlooking Grand Blanc
Location within Genesee County
Grand Blanc Location within the state of Michigan
Coordinates: 42°55′38″N83°37′23″W / 42.92722°N 83.62306°W / 42.92722; -83.62306
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Genesee
Settled	1822
Incorporated	1930
Government
• Type	Council–manager [1]
•  Mayor	Susan J. Soderstrom
•  City manager	Wendy Jean-Buhrer [2]
Area [3]
• Total	3.63 sq mi (9.40 km2)
• Land	3.61 sq mi (9.36 km2)
• Water	0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)  0.55%
Elevation	837 ft (255 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	8,091
• Density	2,240.03/sq mi (864.85/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code(s)	48439, 48480
Area code	810
FIPS code	26-33280 [4]
GNIS feature ID	0627081 [5]
Website	cityofgrandblanc.com

Grand Blanc is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan and a suburb of Flint. The population was 7,784 as of the 2020 US Census. It is part of the Flint metropolitan area.

History

The unincorporated village of Grand Blanc, or Grumlaw, was a former Indian campground first settled by Jacob Stevens in spring 1822. Several years later, settlers improved the Indian trail to Saginaw; they laid out and staked it in 1829 as Saginaw Road. ^[6] Grand Blanc Township was formed in 1833 with area that would become the city. ^[7] The township center began to boom in 1864 with the arrival of the railroad (now known as the CSX Saginaw Subdivision). ^[8] With the post office there, the village was called Grand Blanc Centre by 1873, with the former Grand Blanc assuming the name Gibsonville (not Gibbonsville.) ^[9]

By 1916, the community (population 400) had a grade school, a private bank, flour mill, an elevator, a creamery, and two churches, the Methodist Episcopal and the Congregational. The community was equipped with electrical lighting. ^[6]

On January 1 2024, the winning ticket for the first Powerball lottery of the new year was sold at Food Castle, a food and liquor store in Grand Blanc. The $842.4 million jackpot represented the fifth-largest in Powerball history and the tenth-largest jackpot ever in U.S. lottery history at the time of the drawing. ^[10]

On February 28th, 2024, around 1:12 in the morning, an EF2 tornado touched down with winds reaching 115 mph, and a peak width of around 450 yards. The tornado started near Creasy Bicentennial Park damaging trees and outbuildings before reaching the Waretech Industrial Park at the intersection of Dort Highway and Reid Road. The warehouse was completely destroyed among other businesses and houses that received structural damage within the Indian Hill neighborhood region and Saginaw Road. YouTube Video of Warehouse Damage. The tornado lifted over Perry Road and had a total path length of 5.7 miles. This was the strongest tornado to ever strike Grand Blanc, and extremely rare given the nighttime strike as well as the February occurrence.

City

Grand Blanc Centre incorporated as the City of Grand Blanc in 1930. ^[8] In 1939, the township and the city started a joint fire department. ^[11] In the 1970s, the Grand Blanc city, township and school district formed a joint parks and recreation department under a commission with 2 members from each entity. ^[12] In 1973, Grand Blanc-McFarlen Library, ^[13] was built featuring approximately 45,000 books and offering a host of other materials.

A ballot question in the May 2, 2006 Genesee County general election ended governmental research into a plan to consolidate the city and township governments; 68.62% of city voters opposed consolidation efforts whereas 31.38% were in favor. ^[14]

On January 20, 2019, the Township Board voted to rescind its joint fire department agreement in 90 days unless a new agreement is reached. ^[11] After eight decades of a shared fire department with Grand Blanc Township, the city decided to start up their own department starting July 25, 2019, and named a fire chief. Previously, the joint department was funded by each municipal levying a special levy of 0.5 mil for the department and designating 0.5 mil of general levy to the department. ^[2]

After looking at the lack of management knowledge on the parks and recreation commission in the spring of 2019, the township and city decided to dissolve the commission. In January 2020, the decision was formalized in January 2020 with the township taking over the department to provide services to both municipalities. The city would go on to develop its own parks plan before starting its own department. ^[12]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.63 square miles (9.40 km²), of which, 3.61 square miles (9.35 km²) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km²) is water. ^[15]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	216		—
1930	917		—
1940	1,012		10.4%
1950	998		−1.4%
1960	1,565		56.8%
1970	5,132		227.9%
1980	6,848		33.4%
1990	7,760		13.3%
2000	8,242		6.2%
2010	8,276		0.4%
2020	8,091		−2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [16]

2020 census

As of the 2020 US Census, ^[17] there were 8,091 people, 3,623 households, and 2,026 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,240 inhabitants per square mile (860/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.7% White, 13.1% African American, 1.1% Asian, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population.

Of 3,623 households, 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 14% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.1% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.98.

The city's population as of 2020 census data was 51.2% female and 48.8% male. The median age was 45.5 years.

2010 census

As of the 2010 US Census, ^[18] there were 8,276 people, 3,566 households, and 2,158 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,177.9 inhabitants per square mile (840.9/km²). There were 3,784 housing units at an average density of 995.8 per square mile (384.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.5% White, 11.1% African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.

Of 3,567 households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.94.

The city's population as of 2010 census data was 53.7% female and 46.3% male. The median age was 39.1 years and the population exhibits a bimodal age distribution with peak age groups at 10-14 and 45–49 years (7.5% and 7.2%, respectively).

2000 census

As of the 2000 US Census, the median income for a household in the city was $54,099, and the median income for a family was $82,456. Males had a median income of $61,522 versus $31,051 for females. The per capita income for the city was $32,622. About 3.7% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The city has a council-manager form of government. ^[1] The municipality operates its own water system. ^[19]

The city is served by various specialized units of government:

• Grand Blanc Community Schools ^[20]
• Genesee District Library, which has a branch location, Grand Blanc-McFarlen, in the city owned by the city and township ^[12]
• Senior Center ^[12]
• Fourth Division B of the 67th District Court of the State of Michigan. ^[21]

District	Number [22]	Officeholder
U.S. Representative	5th	Dan Kildee
State Senate	14	Ruth Johnson
State Representative	50	Tim Sneller
County Commissioner	5	James Avery
District Court	67th 4th Division	Christopher R. Odette
Community College	C.S. Mott	Multiple; see article

References

1. Schuch, Sarah (July 12, 2012). "Grand Blanc City Council approves raise for city manager". Flint Journal. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
2. Acosta, Roberto (April 11, 2019). "City of Grand Blanc to start own fire department". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
3. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
4. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
5. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
6. Wood, Edwin O. (1916). "XXVI: Villages of Genesee County, Part I". History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions. US GenNet. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
7. Wood, Edwin O. (1916). History of Genesee County, Michigan, Her People, Industries and Institutions. Michigan Historical Commission. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
8. Romig, Walter (1986). Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Wayne State University Press. pp. 231–232. ISBN   9780814318386. Archived from the original on January 20, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
9. Grand Blanc Centre, Gibsonville Archived 2019-04-16 at the Wayback Machine Map. Page 95. Genesee County 1873. Beers and Co.
10. Murdoch, Robin (January 2, 2024). "Winning Powerball jackpot ticket worth $842 million sold at Michigan food store". FOX 2 Detroit. Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
11. Acosta, Roberto (February 5, 2019). "Grand Blanc Township ponders 'divorce' from city over fire services". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
12. Davis, Emilly (February 18, 2020). "Grand Blanc township and city splitting up again -- this time parks and rec department". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
13. "Grand Blanc-McFarlen Library". Grand Blanc-McFarlen Library. Genesee District Library. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
14. "Summary Report | Regular Election | Official Results". Genesee County Clerk's Office. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
15. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
16. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
17. Bureau, US Census. "Census.gov". Census.gov. Archived from the original on December 27, 1996. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
18. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010". 2010 United States Census. US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
19. Adams, Dominic (June 27, 2014). "Flint monthly water and sewer bills highest in Genesee County by $35". The Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
20. Shively, J. "Genesee ISD" (PDF). Michigan Center for Geographic Information. State of Michigan. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2005. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
21. "Grand Blanc Court". 67th District Court. County of Genesee. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
22. Genesee County Political District Map Book (PDF) (Map). Genesee County GIS Department. 2017. pp. 1, 11, 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.

External links

• cityofgrandblanc.com , official website

42°55′39″N83°37′48″W / 42.92750°N 83.63000°W / 42.92750; -83.63000