Grand Blanc, Michigan

History

The unincorporated village of Grand Blanc, or Grumlaw, was a former Indian campground first settled by Jacob Stevens in 1822. Several years later, settlers improved the Indian trail to Saginaw; they laid out and staked it in 1829 as Saginaw Road. Grand Blanc Township formed in 1833 in an area that became the city. The township center began to boom in 1864 with the arrival of the railroad (now known as the CSX Saginaw Subdivision). With the post office there, the village was called Grand Blanc Centre by 1873, with the former Grand Blanc assuming the name Gibsonville.

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 had electrical lighting.

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.

In the early morning of February 28, 2024, an EF2 tornado touched down in Grand Blanc, 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 Waretech Industrial Park at the intersection of Dort Highway and Reid Road. The warehouse was completely destroyed. Other businesses and houses in the Indian Hill neighborhood and on Saginaw Road were structurally damaged. 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.

City

Grand Blanc Centre incorporated as the City of Grand Blanc in 1930. In the 1970s, the Grand Blanc city, township, and school district formed a joint parks and recreation department under a commission with two members from each entity. In 1973, Grand Blanc-McFarlen Library was built. It has about 45,000 books and 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; 68.6% of city voters opposed consolidation efforts.

On January 20, 2019, the Township Board voted to rescind its joint fire department agreement in 90 days unless a new agreement was reached.

After looking at the lack of management knowledge on the parks and recreation commission in the spring of 2019, the township and city dissolved the commission. The decision was formalized in January 2020, with the township taking over the department to provide services to both municipalities. The city went on to develop its own parks plan before starting its own department.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 3.63 sqmi, of which 3.61 sqmi is land and 0.02 sqmi is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 US Census, there were 8,091 people, 3,623 households, and 2,026 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,240 PD/sqmi. 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, there were 8,276 people, 3,566 households, and 2,158 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,177.9 PD/sqmi. There were 3,784 housing units at an average density of 995.8 /sqmi. 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. The municipality operates its own water system.

The city is served by various specialized units of government:

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

Notable people

• Elias Abuelazam (born 1976), Israeli-born serial killer
• Andrew Caldwell, actor best known for roles in Hannah Montana, Shredderman Rules, and College
• Zach Carroll (born 1994), soccer player
• Grant Fisher (born 1997), middle and long distance runner
• Chuck Forrest, five-time champion on the TV game show Jeopardy! in 1985, and the winner of the second Tournament of Champions in 1986
• Geena Gall (born 1987), middle-distance runner and 2012 Olympian
• Dominic Gasso (born 2003), soccer player
• Mark Ingram, Jr. (born 1989), 2009 Heisman Trophy winner and running back for the New Orleans Saints
• Karen Newman, singer
• Rob Paulsen (born 1956), Emmy Award-winning voice actor
• Evan Peters (born 1987), actor best known for his roles in American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Asylum, and Never Back Down
• Steve Van Wormer (born 1969), actor

References

References

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3. (2007-10-25). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
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6. (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.
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8. Murdoch, Robin. (2024-01-02). "Winning Powerball jackpot ticket worth $842 million sold at Michigan food store". [[WJBK]].
9. (March 3, 2024). "Grand Blanc, MI. EF2 Tornado: Drone Video of Industrial Building Damage #tornadodamage".
10. (February 5, 2019). "Grand Blanc Township ponders 'divorce' from city over fire services". MLive Media Group.
11. (February 18, 2020). "Grand Blanc township and city splitting up again -- this time parks and rec department". Mlive Media Group.
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21. Shively, J.. "Genesee ISD". State of Michigan.
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