Area Information
Owosso is a city in Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 15,194 at the 2010 census. The city is located on the eastern side of Owosso Township, but is politically independent. The city was named after Chief Wasso, an Ojibwa leader of the Shiawassee area.
Alfred L. and Benjamin O. Williams were early settlers to the town. They drew Elias Comstock who built the first permanent home in the settlement. Owosso was incorporated as a city in 1859 at which time it had a 1000 people. It had never had a period as a village. The town's first mayor was Amos Gould, a judge originally from New York. In 1876 it organized its fire department.
The Owosso area economy has an industrial legacy that began with furniture and agricultural service occupations in the mid 1880’s with a gradual change to a variety of industries served with five different rail approaches to the city before the end of the century. Most of today’s industries are suppliers of parts for larger corporations elsewhere. Electronics, furniture, air quality control products, transportation, and injection molding of plastic parts dominate the industrial mix of about 40 factories in the Mid-County area.
The service economy is bolstered with the presence of Baker College, Memorial Health Care Services, Davis Cartage, and Indian Trails Bus Lines. Although the industrial workforce is comparatively higher than other Michigan cities at 24% of the workforce, there has been a steep decline from the early industrial era as the service sector increases its presence in education, insurance, real estate, and health care. The transition into the service sector has been slow for those who lost industrial jobs. Owosso’s unemployment rate chronically hovers about 10%.
Downtown Owosso is the historic commercial center of Shiawassee County where three state highways converge. The central business district retains 30 blocks of commercially developed properties. The business mix is varied with 40 retail outlets amidst a total of 250 businesses. Over 100 downtown buildings are historic and multi-story commercial structures. Westown is another historic commercial center with its heritage as a rail service center—hotels, restaurants and stores. Today it is a bustling center on its own with historic character. Dutchtown is a service area for southwest Owosso and as with the other commercial centers, it retains high occupancy rates.
Resources:
City of Owosso
Wikipedia
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