HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS
Flint started with humble beginnings in 1819 as a trading post and later became known as a “carriage” town . . . which soon grew into the birthplace of the automobile. Wherever you look in the downtown Flint area you’ll be reminded of the leaders who built the automotive industry including Charles Stewart Mott, Alfred P. Sloan, William C. Durant, J. Dallas Dort and others. From historical homes to museums . . . to art collections and estates, you’ll learn about how these influential leaders shaped our community. |
 Applewood
1400 E. Kearsley Street
(810) 233-3031
www.applewood.org
The historic home of Ruth Rawlings and Charles Stewart Mott includes 34 acres, 18 of which are highly landscaped with stately trees, lush lawns and flower-filled gardens. Guided public garden tours and garden tours by appointment are available from May through September.
 Buick Gallery and Research Center
303 Walnut Street
(810) 237-3450
Located in the Flint Cultural Center
www.SloanMuseum.org
The Buick Gallery is home to the largest collection of vintage, one-of-a-kind and experimental prototype Buicks including the recently restored 1954 Wildcat II, the XP300 and the 1910 Buick Bug. In addition, the Gallery houses an automotive and local historical records research facility. Located in the Flint Cultural Center.
 |
Charles Nash House
307 Mason Street
Across the street from the Dort-Durant Office Building
CharlesWNashHouse@yahoo.com
This Queen Anne style house built circa 1890, was owned by automotive pioneer Charles W. Nash (1864-1948). Born in Illinois, Nash worked on area farms before forming a successful hay processing firm, "Adams and Nash," in 1882. He was hired by the Flint Road Cart Company as a cushion stuffer
at $1.00 a day in 1890. He later became general-manager and vice president of the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, general-manager of the Buick Motors Company (1910) and president of Buick and the General Motors Corporation (1912). In 1916 he formed the Nash Motor Company. |
 Durant Dort Carriage Factory
310-311 Water Street
This building is one of the few remaining, and the only historically restore example of the late 19th century industrial architecture, in the area. The larger of the buildings, a two-story brick structure, was constructed in 1887-1888 as the first factory built for the rapidly expanding Flint Road Cart Company. The smaller one-story structure was the original factory for the company that would eventually become General Motors.
 Durant Dort Office Building
315 Water Street
Recognized as the birthplace of General Motors, it is the only building in the county designated as a National Landmark Historic Structure.
 The Michigan School for the Deaf Superintendent’s Cottage
1301 West Court Street
The superintendent’s cottage construction was started in 1889 and completed in 1894 and is the oldest building on the campus of the Michigan School for the Deaf. With the exception of the brick and masonry work, all of the work on the cottage was done by the deaf students who worked at the school’s cabinet shop. The 2 1/2 story brick Queen Anne-style structure is topped by a multi-gabled roof and rests on a fieldstone foundation.
 Stockton Center at Spring Grove
Ann Arbor Street
(810) 238-9140
Built in 1872, the house was originally the home of Colonel Thomas and Maria Stockton. The Stockton family lived there for 50 years until 1921 when the property was sold to the Archdiocese of Detroit for the construction of Saint Joseph Hospital. Both the original house and the huge three story addition built by the Sisters of Saint Joseph are being completely restored.
 Whaley Historical House
624 East Kearsley Street
(810) 235-6841
www.gfn.org/whaley
Whaley Historical House was the home of Robert and Mary Whaley from 1885 until their deaths in the 1920s. Mr. Whaley, the longest serving President of the Citizens Bank, is recognized for loaning William C. Durant funds to start the Flint Road Cart Company in 1886 which eventually lead to Mr. Durant’s founding of the General Motors Company here in Flint in 1908. Whaley House is the last Victorian era home left on a street once lined with Flint pioneers’ homes. |
