Rochester MI 48306,48307,48308

Sitting north of Metropolitan Detroit, Rochester is part of Oakland County in Michigan with over 12,000 residents at the 2010 US census. Two railroads of the Detroit United Railway, one from Royal Oak and the other from Detroit stop at Rochester. The city was known as a refinery for its paper products, sugar beets, and the Western Knitting Mills factory.

Its name was derived from Rochester, Germany, New England, and southern Canada where many of its early settlers originated. They built a log cabin in 1817 in an area where Quik Pik and Penn Station stores would soon become. Most of these earlier settlers also originated from New York, went on a journey to find land to farm. They explored an area north of Detroit with the help of Native American trails, where they traveled through marshlands and thick wooden forests along the Detroit River. They found the area as heavily wooded forests with rivers and creeks.

In 1820, residents of Avon Township and Rochester filed a petition on April 12, 1869, to incorporate their village as Rochester. During this time, Rochester had several hotels, mills, farms, churches, and even libraries. They also elected their first President, Jesse Wilson as well as a clerk, a treasurer, and a marshal and Rochester became a city in 1966.

History

One of its first settlers goes by the name of James Graham, an Irish born man but was raised in Detroit during the War of 1812. After the war, Graham and his family traversed up north and arrived in Rochester on March 17, 1817. His family knew they found sanctuary when they saw plenty of pine, oaks, elm, maple, and beech trees. What attracted his family the most is the following stream that they saw a potential as a mill.

Within several years after the Germans arrived in Rochester, the Native Indians helped them cultivating land and with their harvest. Another resident, John Hersey bought a land in Rochester in 1818 for $2 an acre, the very first land sold in Michigan. Residents along the Clinton River, Paint Creek River, and Stony Creek River utilize the streams to generate power. These water-powered mills provided clothing, shelter, and most importantly food in Rochester. They use water mills to grind grain into flour, cut lumber to build homes, and make wool for clothing.

When the Great Depression stroke America in the 1930s, small business and other industry in the city struggled. The once-booming industries of different markers experience great loss and production declined. It was not until the 1940s when these industries began showing evident growth which new business started to gain back momentum. Today, Rochester had developed into an affluent suburban community where they offer high standards of quality living to its residents.

Court House

52/3 District Court
700 Barclay Cir, Rochester Hills, MI 48307, USA

Police Department

Rochester Police
400 6th St, Rochester, MI 48307, USA

Famous Attractions

Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve
333 N Hill Cir, Rochester Hills, MI 48307, USA

Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm
1005 Van Hoosen Rd, Rochester, MI 48307, USA

Hawk Woods Nature Center
3799 Bald Mountain Rd, Auburn Hills, MI 48326, USA