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Rochester, Michigan

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City of Rochester
City
"First Settlement in Oakland County. City of Rochester. Settled in 1817."
"First Settlement in Oakland County. City of Rochester. Settled in 1817."
Location of Rochester, Michigan
Location of Rochester, Michigan
CountryUnited States
StateMichigan
CountyOakland
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • MayorJeffrey T. Cuthbertson
 • City ManagerJaymes A. Vettraino
Area
 • Total3.9 sq mi (10 km2)
 • Land3.9 sq mi (10 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
751 ft (229 m)
Population
 (2008)
 • Total12,711
 • Density3,259.23/sq mi (1,271.1/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
48307
Area code248
FIPS code26-69020Template:GR
GNIS feature ID0636069[1]
Websitewww.ci.rochester.mi.us

Rochester is a city in north Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan on the northern outskirts of metro Detroit. The population was 10,467 at the 2000 census. The 2008 census estimate places the population at 11,002.[2] The City of Rochester is bordered on the north, south, and west by the City of Rochester Hills, and to the east by Shelby Township in Macomb County.

Rochester has great natural beauty due to the three waterways that surround the city, abundant green space of three parks, and two winding nature trails. Residents can enjoy fishing in the Clinton River or biking along the Paint Creek Trail.

Major airports around the area include Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, and Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus, Michigan.

History

The Western Knitting Mills, built in 1896, was owned by the Chapman brothers.

The first settlers in what would become Rochester, the Graham family, built a log cabin in 1817. The cabin was located where the Quik Pik and Penn Station stores today exist at the intersection of Main and Second Street. The city was named for Rochester, New York, just like Rochester, Minnesota, as many early settlers to the area were formerly from the state of New York.

The city became an industrial center with abundant water power from the Clinton River and Paint Creek. The interconnected waterways are no longer used for travel or local industry, but provide natural beauty, some fishing, and a healthy portion of the Clinton Watershed. Historically, past industries formerly located in Rochester included a refinery for sugar beets, a paper products company, and the Western Knitting Mills factory, which was later adapted and utilized during World War II for incendiary production—businesses that no longer exist in the area. Rochester was served by two railroads as well as the Detroit United Railway, a passenger trolley to Royal Oak and Detroit.

Chapman Mill Pond, east of downtown, disappeared into the Paint Creek when the dam broke during the flood of 1946. The reclaimed land is the site of the current post office, library, and Olde Towne Road. Water Street, formerly situated at the edge of the large pond, remains by its name a reminder of the pond's former existence.

Michigan became the 26th state in 1837, and the Village of Rochester was formed on April 12, 1869, within the boundaries of Avon Township. The Village of Rochester became a city in 1966, breaking away from Avon Township. Avon Township became the City of Rochester Hills in 1984, after the city of Rochester annexed 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2) of Avon Township's land, more than doubling its size. Source: Rochester-Avon Historical Society. Rochester: Preserving History, a Pictorial Journey. Rochester, MI. By 1895, Rochester's population was 900.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10.0 km²), all land. Since an annexation of a section of Avon Township (now Rochester Hills), the city has an Eastern boundary that extends to the border with Macomb County.

Culture

Further information: Tourism in metropolitan Detroit

The city has held the annual "Rochester Hometown Christmas Parade" since 1951. It features over 100 units, and since 2003 has been broadcast live on local Detroit television station WXYZ-TV. The television station website (http://www.wxyz.com/content/community/parade/default.aspx) claims it to now be Michigan's largest Christmas parade.

In 2006, the city had its first "Big Bright Light Show" for the Christmas season. The downtown businesses were covered in 500,000 individual lights. An expansion of the program after its initial inception expanded that coverage to a reported one million lights. A panoramic view can be seen here: http://www.greatlakesap.com/recent/panos/rls.html. Also aired by WXYZ-TV.

Architecture

Rollin Sprague Building, built in 1849.
Further information: Architecture of metropolitan Detroit

Established in 1817, Rochester was one of Oakland County’s first settlements. Twenty two buildings on Main Street are more than 50 years old, and several are on the State Register of Historic Places.

  • Rollin Sprague Building - The oldest commercial building in the downtown is the Rollin Sprague building, built in 1849 of coursed cobblestone. Since 1930 it houses "The Home Bakery".
  • Opera House - The Opera House Building opened on November 8, 1890 as the social and cultural center of town. It featured movies, lectures, dances, commencements, etc, until 1933. Ironically, an Opera was never staged. Refurbished in 1987, it houses Lytle Pharmacy today.
  • Rochester Grain Elevator - Located at the corner of University Drive and Water Street, is the Rochester Grain Elevator (originally named Griggs Grain Elevator), a red barn built in 1880. Until the 1970s, farmers brought their grain to the elevator to be shipped to Detroit. After that time, its primary use has been as a supply store. An external restoration in Summer of 2009 worked toward returning the building to its former appearance.
The Royal Park Hotel opened in September 2004.
  • Royal Park Hotel - In September 2004, the Royal Park Hotel, a four-star, four-diamond luxury hotel, opened in downtown Rochester. It cost $43 million to build. Several celebrities have stayed there, including Paul McCartney, Hugh Hefner, and former President George W. Bush (while seeking re-election).
  • Western Knitting Mills - The Western Knitting Mills, a large brick building on Water Street, was built in 1896. At one time, its output of 100,000 dozen pairs of gloves annually made it one of the largest glove producers in the world. Today the mill is fully restored, and home to The Rochester Mills brewery restaurant and several businesses.
  • RCS Administration Center is the former Rochester High School, at one point in its past serving kindergarten through graduating senior students. Built 1889 but renovated at different times in its later history, it opened as Rochester School (Avon#5), replacing an earlier school on that site that had burned down in 1888. The property site was used for school purposes beginning in 1847. Since the mid-1970s, the building has housed the Rochester Community Schools Board Of Education offices and occasional related events, and is certainly one of the largest and noteworthy structures in the city.

Parks and recreation

Further information: Huron-Clinton Metroparks
The Paint Creek Trail of 8.5 miles (14 km) connects the Rochester area to the Lake Orion, Michigan area.
Rotary Gateway Park in Rochester, Michigan.
  • Paint Creek and Clinton River Trails - City is at the cross section of two major "Rails-to-Trails" projects: the Paint Creek Trail and Clinton River trail. These trails are used for recreational activities, like biking and walking. They connect to several major parks, including Bloomer Park, Rochester Municipal Park, Stoney Creek Metropark and the Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve. The majority of the area used for the trails and pathways include former railroad and interurban rail lines, long since converted to non-vehicular recreational use.
  • Paint Creek Center for the Arts - Paint Creek Center for the Arts is a regional non-profit art center dedicated to promoting the arts and artistic excellence through a full range of cultural programming including studio art classes for children and adults, exhibitions of emerging and established Michigan artists, outreach programs, community involvement and the annual Art & Apples Festival. Visit http://www.pccart.org [1] for more information.
  • Rochester Avon Recreation Authority - The Rochester Avon Recreation Authority (RARA) has been a recreation provider to Rochester, Rochester Hills, and Oakland Township since 1946. It provides recreation programs from 12 months to adults in a variety of areas, such as dance, sports classes, sport leagues, pre-school classes, special events, fitness, skiing, etc.
  • Rochester Municipal Park, formerly called Avon Park, is the largest park area in the city, comprising a large portion of the downtown area. Linked with the Paint Creek trail system (and including a significant portion of the creek itself), it offers a quiet, naturalized setting, easily enjoyed from its own trail system, as well as two playground areas, lighted tennis courts, an outdoor music-stage amphitheater, the Rochester Community House, and the Kiwanis Pavilion. The 'duck pond' has been used in past winters for skating. The public park is home to free annual events such as the Art & Apples Festival (http://www.artandapples.com), the Heritage Festival, and the summer concert series (Music In The Park).

Tourism

There isn't a lot of tourist attractions in Rochester, but there are a few sights and a lot of shopping. Downtown rochester consists of many shops and holds the oldest building in downtown rochester, the Rolin Sprague Building. This building was built in 1849 and is now known as the The Home Bakery.[3] Besides for Downtown Rochester, another big shopping area is The Village of Rochester Hills. This is an outdoor mall and consists of many shops and restaurants. The Van Hoosen Farm also contains a lot of Rochesters' rich history. Along with the Van Hoosen Farm, one can visit the Mansion, which is located on Oakland University's Campus.

Economy

Further information: Economy of metropolitan Detroit

Rochester has a vibrant downtown shopping district. The Farmer's Market takes place every Saturday, May through October, in downtown. It features fresh produce, flowers, handmade goods and other products from Michigan.

Several city festivals take place in downtown: Dancing in the Streets (August), Music in the Park (Thursdays in summer), Art & Apples Festival http://www.artandapples.com (weekend after Labor Day in September), and the Heritage Festival (Memorial Day Weekend), which includes two classic automobile shows. Other scheduled, traditional civic celebrations and activities include Girls' Night Out, the Gallery Walk, Lagniappe, the Sidewalk Sales, Movies In The Moonlight, and the two-day Fire And Ice Festival. The popular Rockin' Rods classic car show each August features hundreds of rare and unusual automobiles, both domestic and imported.

The Older Persons Commission provides social and educational activities, nutritional meals, senior resource services, as well as health and wellness programs to community members 60+ years of age, in a new state-of-the art facility built in 2002.

Demographics

Water Tower, City of Rochester, Michigan.

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 10,467 people, 4,667 households, and 2,636 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,710.6 per square mile (1,047.0/km²). There were 5,056 housing units at an average density of 1,309.3 per square mile (505.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.39% White, 2.24% African American, 0.25% Native American, 3.69% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.68% of the population.

There were 4,667 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 37.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $65,179, and the median income for a family was $92,078. Males had a median income of $62,486 versus $37,107 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,989. About 0.6% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The City of Rochester is governed by a seven-member city council and its mayor. City policy is then administered by a full-time city manager. The government provides full city services, including police, fire and water/sewer services, similar to many other communities in north Oakland County.

Education

Oakland University is located in the nearby cities of Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills, though it maintains a Rochester mailing address. Rochester Community Schools is the public school district encompassing Rochester and surrounding areas. As of 2007, a total of 14,500 students receive instruction in the district, which has four high schools, all located in Rochester Hills: Rochester High School, Rochester Adams High School, Stoney Creek High School and A.C.E. High School.

Public library

Rochester Hills Public Library, Rochester, Michigan.

The Rochester Hills Public Library, located in the City of Rochester, is the largest public library in Oakland County. The City of Rochester and Oakland Township contract with the City of Rochester Hills for its residents use of the library. The extensive two-story structure offers patrons an array of choices from its holdings, including sizable subcollections of DVDs, CDs, video games, and other materials, in addition to its multidepartment book collections. As a virtual community center, the Library also hosts a number of live music concerts, annual visits by noted authors, and educational and recreational services, as well as public online access.

Notable people

Further information: People from Detroit

This list includes people from the Rochester area (Rochester, Rochester Hills, and Oakland Township) (48306, 48307, 48309, 48363)

See also

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rochester, Michigan
  2. ^ "Rochester Statistics". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2009-08-03. {{cite web}}: Text "04000US26" ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Downtown Rochester".
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