Davison, Michigan and Its Physical Environment

People's lives are shaped by natural forces that we can not control. Humans are at the mercy of nature in a lot of respects and must adjust to the landscape. The example of this that will be used in this paper is Davison, Michigan. It is an average sized city east of Flint. It is located in Genesee County and a lot of the statistics will be about the county as a whole or based on the city of Flint. The city of Davison is closely connected to Flint and is within Genesee County so the statistics are applicable. This paper will show how the land and weather have shaped the way of life for Davisonians and how Davisonians live their lives.

The city of Davison lies within Davison Township. Davison Township is about 33.7 square miles in area. The land accounts for roughly 33.5 square miles while the water accounts for the other 0.2 square miles. The city of Davison is just east of Flint and is connected to it in many ways. The physical features of Flint are similar to Davison's because of the proximity. The economy of Davison is closely tied to Flint's as a large number of Davisonians work in the city of Flint.

The layout of the land is nothing too special. The city is located on a lowland. This causes the water table to be closer to the surface then it normally would be which does effect farming and septic tank systems. The land is pretty flat with few exception. There is a few big hills to go sledding down but nothing major. The bedrock is not visible in any part of the city but according to a map of Michigan geology it has Michigan formation underneath it.

The mining industry is not very big in Davison or the surrounding region as all of Genesee county has a number of 5 mining sites in whole. The land is mostly dominated by buildings and roads in the actual city. An interesting problem has been caused by the land in the city. For many years, the Davison Middle School would flood on especially rainy days and kids would be sent home.

The Davison Middle School is on some especially low land. It is in a valley of sorts. The soils in the region are pretty poorly drained and the water table is close to the surface because of the fact that is located on one of the lowest areas in the city. All of the water drained down into the basin which the middle school appears to be located on and would flood. After about 20 or 30 years, some of the top school brass got together and decided to do something about it. There has not been any floods in the past few years but I could not find a report as to why this was.

Another problem Davison has had with the soil also has to do with a school. About a decade ago, the Hahn Intermediate School was built. There was one big problem during the construction. The school was built on a slope. Over a span of a few days during the construction, there was a lot of rain. This caused the soil to move with the floodwater. The walls collapsed as the soil moved downhill and the construction was delayed until the soil could stay dry enough to get all of the walls reinforced.

The soil of Davison is a mixture of two different associations. The first association of soils is Conover- Brookston association. It contains some of the most
poorly drained soils around the county. The major two soils in this association formed in loam and light clay loam glacial till. The vegetation that grows on these soils is hardwoods, including elm, ash, hickory, and maple. The soils can be suited to intensive farming when they are drained and fertilized. Since there is poor drainage and a level to gentle slope, the water table can get high and excessive moisture can occur.

This is the one problem with the soil for farming. The second association is Celina-Conover-Miami. This association has is better drained then the Conover-Brookston. It is formed in loam or light clay loam glacial till just like the other. These soils are found more on hilltops and slopes. The vegetations in the uplands is hardwoods like oak, maple, elm, ash, and hickory. On the more organic soils of this association there are dense stands of elm, ash, cedar, willow, alder, and soft maple. There are a few instances of this in Davison. All of the aforementioned trees can be found.

Davison has a good number of cultivated lots and farms. The soils are pretty good for crops. There is a number of families in the region that sustain at least a large part of their income by farming to this day. There is a farmers market every weekend in the downtown area which is very popular. There are several places throughout the town were farmers have stands they open during the summer and sell from the roadside. There are hundreds of acres of farm land mixed in with the homes that are popping up everywhere. The acreage of farmed land has gone down sharply in the last few decades. This has been especially true for the last decade. It can be by those who have lived there for any length of time.

This drastic drop has to do with the fact that more people are starting to move to Davison and surrounding regions. This shift of people can be attributed to Flint and its continuing struggles. The people of Flint are moving out to the suburbs like Davison and Flushing to find better homes, better schooling, and better neighborhoods. The soils which had been used for farming are being bought up to make room for commercial and residential zones. Large numbers of homes are being built on the land and new neighborhoods are springing up everywhere. Strip malls are being placed in other old farming land. Agriculture has never been a huge part of the Davison or Genesee County economy but it is getting even smaller now.

According to a statistic in the Michigan Statistical Abstract taken in 1992, the total agricultural, forestry, and fishing income as a percent of total personal income in Genesee County was less than 0.1%. The fact that there is such little reliance on agriculture has made the economy of Davison rely on Flint and the auto industry. This reliance has caused some people to struggle as the jobs in Flint are leaving for far away lands. As the farm land continues to be gobbled up, the landscape will surely change. Right now Davison has a unique blend of urban and rural. A person could travel two miles and one second see a sea of corn and the next second see a strip mall with cars and people everywhere. This blend gives the city a unique feel to it. It gives this small city- big city dichotomy that will be discussed later on in the tourism and recreation section.

The precipitation for this region is taken from the city of Flint. The average yearly precipitation in inches is about 36.87. Compared to the rest of the state this is right about the average if not a little below. The average amount of snowfall for this region is about 50 inches. This is slightly below the average compared to the rest of the state. The average temperature for Davison is about 47.0 degrees. None of these figures are outlandish or especially different than the rest of the state. Everything in this department is about average. It still has an effect of the people in Davison. They go through the same problems with weather that the rest of Michigan does. All of that snow and precipitation compounded with the winters makes the roads a major issue. They say there are two seasons in Michigan: winter and construction season.

This can be seen in the Davison region as people rarely have a time were the roads are perfect. If there is not snow and ice on the roads then there are orange barrels and construction workers. The freezing of precipitation in the cracks of roads makes things an ongoing struggle. The salt that must be put on the roads because of the icy conditions does not help matters. This weather has a big effect on transportation and the economy for that matter. When the roads get icy like they do then people try not to travel as much.

Businesses are hurt because people cannot easily go out and make business at them. The snow does offer the area a bit in the way of recreation and commerce. There is a need to get the snow out of the roads so a lot of plows are employed. The plowed snow turns into recreation for all the young kids as they make forts and play in it. The city of Davison also a numerous small lakes and ponds. The people that are lucky enough to have homes on these lakes and ponds use it for fishing, skating, and hockey. The weather's effect on the people of Davison is surely equal to the other regions of Michigan

The tourism and recreation of Davison is once again closely connected to the city of Flint. The downfall of Flint has led to an increase of commerce in the city of Davison. Businesses are popping up everywhere in Davison. What once was a small quiet city with little to offer other than a few fast food places has turned into a good sized city with about everything a person could want. There are more and more restaurant chains and stores moving into the city. This has helped some of the local businesses while others have been run out. Some of older grocery stores have been put out of business while the chain markets have moved in and taken stake into the city. There are some older more established businesses that have been helped by this influx of commerce. One such example would be Archie's Family Restaurant. This local eatery is well known around the surrounding region. It has been in Davison for a good 40 years now. It is the kind of place were you get regulars that go there everyday.

This place has its own culture. It has survived against nationwide chain restaurants and has actually grown as it is now open 24 hours and has been renovated recently. These local established businesses attract a lot of outsiders who want to know what all the fuss is about. Whitey's is another place known around the area for its fish. This is the kind of tourism that Davison gets. There is not one thing that people can go see and be amazed by. People who come to Davison are looking to relax and take in the mix of the old and the new that Davison uniquely offers.

The attractiveness of Davison has to be that combination. It has all of the things a big city offers without all of the crime, industry, and tall buildings. Davison also offers a few local events that attracts locals and tourists alike. The Festival of Flags is a popular week long celebrations. The city of Davison is known as the city of flags hence the name of the celebration. The festival has all kinds of events including a parade, fireworks, carnival rides, local business specials, a road race, and a bunch of different activities in downtown. The Pumpkin Festival brings in the fall and is pretty similar to the Festival of Flags. The big difference here is that pumpkins are everywhere and have some kind of connection to the activities that are happenings.

Places like Archie's also offer the recreation to those who don't want to travel to Flint for entertainment. Archie's and other 24 hours diners like the Country Sun offer college students and other crazy individuals a place to sit, talk, and enjoy a nice coffee while discussing the stresses of everyday life. The city of Davison a made big strides recently in the way of recreation. The Davison Regional Park has been more developed ever year. The Park offers a massive plays cape which was a huge community project about 10 years ago. The people of Davison came together to build a place where the children could play all day as the teenagers played at the basketball courts while the parents sat back, relaxed, grilled, and threw back a few brews.

The Park also added a skate park on top of the baseball diamonds that were already in place. The newest addition has been the scenic pathways and bridges. The landscape is full of streams and forest. The city has cut pathways through the trees and places bridges of the streams. This gives the locals and others who come to visit a nice place to get away and be with nature. The paths are very enjoyable to walk through and the fauna is all very beautiful. If a person is lucky they may even spot a deer or two as they enjoy their stroll. Another site for recreation in Davison are the Sport Courts.

This place offers a number of basketball hoops and tennis courts along with a two pairs of hockey nets. This place is usually pretty full during the summer days. Davison does offer other recreation that is pretty standard for a small city. This includes a library, a small museum, a few church recreation centers, some billiard places, a bowling alley, and a variety of cafes.

The city of Davison is one in transition between the old rural ways and the new urban shift. Davison is getting away from the reliance on the land. The once small farming community is slowly moving toward a sprawling urban landscape. This makes the city of Davison unique and lets an outsider see a place in transition. Davison is still steeped in tradition and the ways of the land while making strides to conquer Michigan and all of its physical features.