Clio, MI

Clio grew out of a sawmill, a grain trade, and the Flint and Pere Marquette Railway. The 2020 census counted 2,525 residents in this Genesee County city, which sits entirely within Vienna Township while keeping its own government. Theodore P. Dean put up a sawmill on the village site in 1837; Austin Griffes added a grist mill in the 1850s. When the railroad arrived in 1861, the settlement then known as Varney gained a station, stores, manufacturing, and a lumber economy. Colonel Hill's 1864 push for the name Clio finally stuck, and the village became a city in 1928.

Freight trains still pass through town on the old rail line, and the Clio Area Historical Depot Museum keeps that railroad chapter close to Vienna Street. The George Atkin Jr. Recreational Trail follows Pine Run Creek through woods, parks, homes, and commercial areas, using tunnels and bridges to cross local roads. That combination gives Clio a readable map: old industry along the tracks, a museum at the former depot, and a creekside trail threading the neighborhoods. Flint is the regional metro, though Clio's day-to-day landmarks are smaller and closer to home.