Died 1866 | ||
William S. Ballenger, Sr. (December 5, 1866–1951) was one of the five men who organized and owned the Buick Motor Company, bringing it to Flint, Michigan, in 1905.[1]. He was elected secretary and treasurer of Buick until 1908 when the firm was purchased by General Motors, which he had also helped form.
Born in Cambridge City, Indiana, Ballenger went to Flint in 1888 to become a stenographer and bookkeeper for the Flint Wagon Works. This company was subsequently absorbed by the Little Motor Car Company [2] and Ballenger became the secretary and treasurer of Little. When Little sold out to Chevrolet in 1913, Ballenger became the treasurer of Chevrolet, a position he kept until his retirement in 1926.
Ballenger was a member of the Flint Board of Education for six years and made generous bequests to Flint Junior College, later renamed Mott Community College. The main athletic facility on the campus, the William S. Ballenger Field house, was named in his honor [3]. The Ballenger Eminent Persons Lecture Series, endowed by Ballenger for the College, has been one of the most prestigious forums for visiting speakers in Michigan during the past six decades [4]
Ballenger established two privately-owned parks within the City of Flint, Memorial Park and Ballenger Park [5]. Ballenger Highway, which forms most of the western city limits of Flint, is named after him, largely because he was the principal benefactor of a major hospital, now part of McLaren Health Care Corporation[6]. He was also chairman of the board of directors of the Citizens Commercial & Savings Bank (now part of FirstMerit Corporation). A year before he died in 1951, Ballenger was named president of the Flint Public Trust.
Ballenger's grandson, William S. (Bill) Ballenger, III, is a writer, editor, publisher, and frequent commentator on Michigan politics in the state and national news media.