It was around this time that a teacher of his, having not accomplished the same, convinced him that to get liberal education in order benefit him in his future interests; ever determined to better himself, Flint left Maine at the age of 17, enrolling in the Phillips Academy of Andover, Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, he was commended with a silver medal from the New York State Agricultural Society, whose members and chairman had found his 1846 essay on Indian corn "very successful in throwing much and additional interest" over the crop's history.

[10] For part of the time that he was attending law school, Flint worked under the supervision then-Commodore Charles Henry Davis for the American Nautical Almanac in Boston.

[2][3] The organization of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture had begun following the Governor's signing of its Act of Legislation on April 21, 1852, around the same time that Flint was finishing his studies in law.

[note 2] The governor and this executive council would then appoint 3 members considered of scientific background, with the remaining membership being elected delegates from each county agricultural society, serving in terms of 3 years each.

[2] The first order of business for the Board would be to find a secretary of competent administrative ability but familiar with the sciences as well; Wilder saw such a figure is as imperative for the organization's survival.

[3] After reading Flint's essay on Indian corn, which had received two prizes by this time, Wilder and the other members of the Board became convinced that he was just the person they needed to fill the position.

[2] He was immediate writ a letter by a member of the Board, asking what he believed the duties of such a title would involve, to which Flint, ignorant to the fact that he was their prime candidate, responded to in great length.

[2] He felt that it would be a complete change from everything he had spent his life planning for, but after persistent solicitation by former Governor Everett, Wilder and others, along with the consultation of several close friends, Flint ultimately renounced his New York practice and accepted the position.

Charles L. Flint has presented to the Board a statement concerning his connection with the same during the past twenty-five years, and has offered his resignation as secretary: Resolved, That the Board desires to express its high appreciation of the valuable services of Secretary Flint, and hereby earnestly requests him to withdraw his resignation, and continue the good work on behalf of the agricultural interests of the Commonwealth, in which he has achieved so enviable a reputation.

Charles L. Flint, for the ability and fidelity with which he has discharged the duties of secretary for the last twenty-five years, in a manner alike honorable to the Commonwealth, and beneficial to its people.

Resolved, That we tender to Mr. Flint our personal acknowledgments for the courtesy and kindness which have ever characterized his intercourse with the members of the Board, with the sincere desire that the remainder of his days may be as happy and prosperous as the past have been honorable and useful.

In the early 1880s[note 3] an International Exposition was held at Santiago, at which the government of Chile awarded and sent him a bronze medal and diploma "in recognition of the high quality and value of his reports.

[27] For a time the college was considered a success while under Clark's leadership, however by the end of the 1870s enrollment had gone into steady decline, with no admissions from the farming region of Berkshire County in 1870 and less than 20 students admitted in the entering class of 1875.

As the situation worsened, agricultural societies began to discontinue their scholarships, there was no new support to be found from the state and between 1874 and 1877 the college's credit was upheld only by the personal backing of one of its trustees, William Knowlton.

[28] During Clark's time at Sapporo, Flint advocated for the state to give the college some two hundred scholarships from revenue that had been made from dog license fees.

In the preceding year, the college had cut its veterinary science program in the face of mounting debt, leading the newspapers to call the move a "weakening of instruction".

[28] Unfortunately Flint and the trustees' pleas for scholarship funding fell on deaf ears, as the legislature of that year only allotted a small sum for paying for student labor on the college farm.

At a meeting of the trustees later in May 1879, the situation was seen as particularly grave and it was decided that it wouldn't be likely nor beneficial to call in an outsider, thus Charles L. Flint was unanimously elected to serve as the president of the college.

A lecturer at the college, without compensation, he presented the individual members of its first classes with copies of each of his works on "Milch Cows" and "Forage Plants"; a president, without pay, he gave his services without a murmur, asking for no reward save that arising from the consciousness of having performed his duty; and in almost the last years of his life he gave a substantial token of his interest, subscribing a thousand dollars to the permanent library fund of the college."

[note 4] In the course of that year "Professor of Mental, Moral and Social Sciences," Henry W. Parker offered his resignation, with the position abolished following his departure.

The exact nature of his role in the organization is rarely outlined, however a thoroughly detailed account of his efforts in the Rice Grammar School subcommittee can be found in the 1869 report.

Herein is a transcript of the building's dedication including Flint's speech and exchange of words with Mayor Shurtleff and former Governor Alexander H. Rice, for whom the school was named after.

[42] The secretaryship position paid relatively little, and after performing such duties for 27 years, Flint decided to go on to more lucrative business, becoming president of the New England Mortgage Security Company upon leaving the Board.

[2] The job, though following the work Flint pursued earlier in his life, was anything but relaxing, with a number clients inevitably taking the company to court over perceived violations.

[43] For years he had been plagued with poor health, and would frequently take train rides south to recuperate for weeks at a time; accompanied by friend and associate O.B.

After arriving days earlier, Charles Louis Flint died at the Electric Mound Hotel of Hillman, Georgia, on Tuesday, February 26, 1889, at the age of 64.