On November 16, we posted a story about Todd’s Tavern – the first restaurant in Flint owned by John and Polly Todd in 1830. A significant number of readers inquired as to the location of Todd’s Tavern.
At the time, the location was unknown to us. The only piece of information we had to go on was that it was once a part of the building that held the offices of the Wolverine Citizen, a newspaper printed in Flint from 1881 to 1915. The address of the Wolverine Citizen eluded us until now.
While researching a separate history piece, we found an old Flint directory from the late 1880s. On a whim, we scanned the directory for the Wolverine Citizen and it was there complete with address!
The building was located at the northwest corner of Saginaw and Water Streets. Interesting and perplexing because on current maps of Flint, Water Street and Saginaw do not intersect. However, the layout of Downtown Flint in the 1880s was a little different than it is now. As it turns out, Water Street did intersect Saginaw in the time of the Wolverine Citizen although that stretch of road no longer exists. In the late 1880s, Water Street intersected Saginaw where the Riverfront Center now stands. The Northwest corner of the intersection being current day Riverbank Park, near the amphitheater.
Thus, the approximate location of Todd’s Tavern is near the amphitheater in Riverbank Park.
We hope this answers your questions. I know we were all excited when we found the information!
