The History of Dort Financial Credit Union
What’s In A Name?
We often are asked, “What does Dort stand for?” If you are not from the Genesee County, Michigan, area you most likely would not know the answer to this question. The simple answer is, it’s the last name of Josiah Dallas Dort, an early pioneer in the automotive industry and creator of his own car company.
Dort Motor Car Company built luxury automobiles from 1915 until 1924. Their first models were sedans that were assembled in Flint, Michigan. More than 9,000 cars were sold in the first year, and a second plant was opened in Windsor, Ontario, to keep up with demand.
Because of their growing popularity, a roadster model was introduced in 1917 along with a larger five-seat sedan; a coupe model followed in 1918. These luxury cars were priced from $1,065 for a sedan, $815 for an open “convertible” model and the roadster at $695. The Dort vehicles were priced much higher than the Ford Model T, which was selling for $440 in 1917.
By 1920, production had peaked at 30,000. Because of high demand, Dort Motor Car Company designed two higher-end models named the Harvard and Yale in 1923. At that time, an expensive larger factory was built on the east side of Flint, however, the post-World War I recession caused the company financial difficulties. The company sought additional investors with no luck.
By 1924, Dort was exhausted from overwork and worry so he decided to retire and liquidate the company. The new factory was sold to AC Spark Plug, which is the original select employee group that formed our credit union in 1959. Unfortunately, Dort’s retirement ended unexpectedly when he passed away on May 17, 1924, as he was teeing off on the 18th hole of the historic Flint Golf Club.
Becoming Dort Financial Credit Union
Dort started as a charter mission to serve AC Spark Plug employees, in Flint, Michigan in 1951. The credit union went by the name Dort Industrial Employees Federal Credit Union, and only served the AC Spark Plug employees. By 1963, the credit union had grown enough to open its first standalone location off Davison Rd, in Flint.
The 1980s and 90s saw growth, as the business changed its name to Dort Federal Credit Union in 1984, and the expansion of locations began around the Flint area.
In 2007 and 2008, the credit union opened three more branches in the surrounding areas of Grand Blanc, Fenton, and Lapeer. This allowed the credit union to expand outside of Flint, while serving the Genesee, Shiawassee. Livingston, and Lapeer Counties, with a total of seven locations to serve members.
Three more locations joined the credit union in 2018 in the cities of Owosso, Swartz Creek, and Clio.
In 2020, the credit union made one of its largest changes at the time, and went from a community charter to a state charter. As a result, Dort Federal Credit Union changed its name to Dort Financial Credit Union, as it was no longer federally chartered and served the entire state of Michigan. The field of membership was opened to anyone who lived, worked, worshipped, or went to school in the state of Michigan.
2023 marked a momentous year for the credit union as it opened its doors to its first location in Oakland County, in Orion Township. Dort Financial also announced the acquisition of Flagler Bank in Florida, now Flagler Credit Union A Division of Dort Financial, which allowed the field of membership to include anyone who lives, works, attends school or worships in the state of Michigan or in Palm Beach, Martin, Hendry, and Broward counties in Florida.
