Swartz Creek

History

Native Americans traveled the trail that paralleled the Swartz Creek to reach the maple trees, on what would later be the Crapo Farm, to fish, gather fruit, and hunt. This trail terminated in the Lansing area. {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan=3 | Miller Settlement Population |- ! Year !! Pop. !! ±% p.a. |- | 1880 || 132 || — |- | 1916 || 650 || +4.53% |- |colspan=3| source: in then Flint Township at its original size of 9 township survey areas. On March 11, 1837, just weeks after Michigan became a state, the southern area that would make up the community was placed into Mundy Township. In 1848, Miller Road was designed as a state road. The first Masonic Temple in the community was built in 1906 on Miller Road. In 1927, the community's downtown roads were paved with gravel supplied by the Crapo Gravel Company, which created the now Winchester Lake. Electrical power was brought to the area that same year. On Wednesday April 7, 1954 at about 7:40 PM, a small tornado hit the community. The tornado destroyed the fire hall, knocking down power lines and taking roofs off homes while only injuring two. Otterburn as the rest of Flint Township was in Grand Blanc Township at its organized on March 9, 1833, then split off into Flint Township on March 2, 1836, then with the west half of the survey area was place in Flushing Township. The first land purchase in section 31, the general area of Otterburn, was on May 30, 1836, by John W. McNair. The location was known as Otterburn as otters were generally seen there on the Swartz Creek, a burn. On August 27, 1887, Charles F. Shumway assumed the position of postmaster for the post office upon its opening. The post office closed on October 31, 1913. for its service and parts operations moved from the west Flint Chevy in the Hole…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The west branch of the Swartz Creek flows from west to east through the city, generally as the southern border for the east most third, toward the Flint River, leaving the southeast corner of Clayton Township separated from the rest of the township. Just south and parallel to the creek is the Canadian National Railway line, formerly the Grand Trunk line, which runs between Flint and Durand.

Race & ethnicity