To commemorate his life and contributions to the City of Flint, a statue of C.S. Mott now stands Downtown in GM Automotive Pioneer Plaza. Unveiled on August 19 during the 2017 Back to the Bricks event, the life-size bronze memorial was created by local artist, Joe Rundell, who also sculpted the other four key auto industry figures that accompany Mott’s replica at the historic site.
The statue is inscribed as follows:
Charles Stewart Mott
June 2, 1875 – February 18, 1973
C.S. Mott, Flint’s leading philanthropist, moved his axle firm here from Utica, N.Y., in 1906. He was encouraged by Buick’s W.C. Durant, who created General Motors in 1908. Mott became a GM vice president, served as chief of its advisory board and was a GM director for a record 60 years. He built a fortune and created the Mott Foundation. It became famous for funding a plan to extend school hours for youth and adult education and recreation. His foundation continues to serve people in Flint and worldwide.
In a monumental career, Mott, a Spanish-American war veteran, was Flint mayor three times. His foundation helped build Flint’s Cultural Center, Mott Community College, the University of Michigan-Flint and Mott Children’s Health Center as well as Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. When he died at 97, C.S. Mott was the last of the auto industry’s pioneer leaders.
Photography by Eric Dutro
