"In 1840 and 1850 show stores did not keep a record of the sizes of their customers' feet and show them on a telephone order by a uniformed delivery service. In those days boots and shoes were not articles of commerce, but of manufacture, and the stores could not supply the call for footwear. The customer was sent to the neighboring shoe shop to leave an order and a measure. For men, the product would be cowhide or calfskin boots, and for women, bootees. As the population of the village and county grew, so grew the factories until at the height of the industry this village had five or six, not then dignified by the name of factories, and from fifty to seventy-five employees steadily occupied in the making of boots and shoes to measure. Akin to this production was that of the leather from which the boots were made, and, while not a Flint industry, it was installed by Flint capital and directed by Flint energy. The greater part of the leather for all the boot work of this section was made by Barker & Ripley in a tannery which they operated at Vassar, in the heart of the hemlock territory. Their product was largely cowhide and calfskin for the factory purposes, but there was a surplus over local demands left in the rough and shipped East from Flint after there were shipping facilities. This industry contributed to Flint's material prosperity and figured in the volume of its output."

The Genesee Iron Works were built in 1847, by William Gough, and among their early products was the mowing machine. They made agricultural implements of a primitive kind and cared for such machine work as the few mills then in operation required. In 1848 a steam engine was started in this plant; prior to this time there was only one steam engine in this region; which ran a pail and tub factory operated by Elias Williams near the river bank about where the Crapo saw-mill was afterwards located. These works were allied to the lumbering activities of Flint and played a vastly important part in pioneer development. With them may be classed another shop, that of A. Culver. Rev. John McAlester's wagon-shop began its valuable service at an early day. Over the Genesee Iron Works, Merriman & aberrantly started in 1840 a pioneer effort in the nature of carpenter shop work. This was a planing-mill to dress lumber and to make sash, doors and blinds, turning, cabinet work, frames and scroll work. Mr. Newell was for many years a partner of S. C. Randall, founder of the Randall Lumber and Coal Company, which is the successor of this pioneer industry.

Also auxiliary to the lumbering industry was the manufacture of potash and pearl. The asheries in the village shipped great quantities to the East. The financial returns of this industry were generous and contributed to the capital that was rapidly starting Flint on its prosperous career.

In October, 1835, J. F. Alexander, established a wool-carding mill on the Thread river. Ten years later John C. Griswold engaged in the same business at the Thread mills. For years these mills carded all the wool of this section and the product was taken home to the women, who spun it into yarn and wove it into the native homespun of the pioneers. Mr. Alexander advertised his carding mills in verse, as follows:

"Wool-carding done at the Alexander carding-machine;
All being new, nothing said about it being washed clean,
The women's instructions are, "Tell Mr. Alexander, please,
Make me as good rolls as you can; it will my mind ease.'

"I will, if you grease the wool so and so, and be sure
Then your rolls shall be nice, can't be beat, nothing truer;
And your mind will be at rest when you see that they are
Made at the Carding Mills, No. 1, of J. F. Alexander."