Shoutout to that 1897 map of Michigan that labeled Flint as a booming metropolis.

I visited Flint last weekend and noticed the modern signs barely mention industry while that old map had it as a rail hub bigger than Detroit, so is that map a laughable relic or did it actually predict something real about the region’s faded glory back then?

2 comments

2 Comments

sandralee7d ago

My grandpa used to tell me stories about riding the train through Flint in the 1950s and how you could smell the Buick plant from miles away. He'd always get this look in his eye like he was remembering a ghost town that used to be alive.

karenw237d ago

Right, that line about "booming metropolis" is NOT a laughable relic because you still see that same overpromise everywhere today. I notice this pattern ALL the time in how people talk about cities like Detroit or Cleveland or even my own town. It's like every place has this hidden map of what it COULD be if things had gone differently, but the modern signs only show what's LEFT. That old map is basically a time capsule of pure HOPE before the factories closed and the jobs vanished. So yeah it's faded glory for real because we're still living with the fallout of that boom turning to bust. You can't just erase a city's entire story by putting up new signs and pretending the past didn't happen.