A number of J.C. Moving Co.’s employees are students of history. They are known to study archaeology, paleontology, religion and of course local history. We are furniture movers therefor, we are traveling men. Often we find ourselves in communities around Michigan with rich and complex local histories. We decided to share some of the history we have found in our travels. Often we overlook who a road is named after or how an area was founded. The Native American Saginaw Trail is a regularly traveled roadway today. We call it Woodward Avenue and Dixie Highway. To know where you are going, first you must know where you came from.
Oakland County located in the State of Michigan was founded in 1819 by territorial Governor Lewis Cass. Originally the county was twice its current size. As the population increased other counties were founded from the area of land. Eventually the land area was reduced to a total of 907 square miles. During the 1840’s Oakland County, Michigan was home to more than 50 lumber mills that processed wood from the surrounding area and as far north as Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Three rail lines served Pontiac which attracted manufacturing. By the end of the 19th century, Pontiac, the first town in Oakland County, had become the hub of the county and was in line to become an industrial powerhouse. This legacy is still present today. Oakland County is in the top ten highest income counties in the United States with more than one million population.
2010
| Total Population | 1,202,362 |
| Total | 527,255 |
| Occupied | 483,698 |
| Owner-occupied | 350,988 |
| Population in owner-occupied ( number of individuals ) |
908,267 |
| Renter-occupied | 132,710 |
| Population in renter-occupied ( number of individuals ) |
281,599 |
| Households with individuals under 18 | 153,639 |
| Vacant | 43,557 |
| Vacant: for rent | 17,915 |
| Vacant: for sale | 8,925 |
| Male | 583,384 |
| Female | 618,978 |
| Under 18 | 282,105 |
| 18 & over | 920,257 |
| 20 - 24 | 63,344 |
| 25 - 34 | 143,387 |
| 35 - 49 | 268,213 |
| 50 - 64 | 258,149 |
| 65 & over | 159,124 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 41,920 |
| Non Hispanic or Latino | 1,160,442 |
| White | 928,912 |
| African American | 164,078 |
| Asian | 67,828 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 3,376 |
| Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander | 254 |
| Other | 11,584 |
| Identified by two or more | 26,330 |
Source: http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=26125
| Affleck, Gregor S. and Elizabeth B., House | 1925 N. Woodward Ave. | Bloomfield Hills |
| Albertson, Eli and Sidney Teeter, House | 4480 Sheldon Rd. | Oakland Township |
| Aldrich, Royal, House | 31110 W. 11 Mile Rd. | Farmington Hills |
| Andrews--Leggett House | 722 Farr St. | Commerce |
| Axford--Coffin Farm | 384-388 W. Predmore Rd. | Oakland Township |
| Botsford Inn | 28000 Grand River Ave. | Farmington |
| Botsford--Graser House | 24105 Locust Dr. | Farmington Hills |
| Brooks Farm | 3521 Big Beaver Rd. | Troy |
| Casa del Rey Apartments | 111 Oneida Rd. | Pontiac |
| Caswell House | 60 W. Wattles Rd. | Troy |
| Central School | 101 E. Pike St. | Pontiac |
| Clarkston Village Historic District | Clarkston Village | MI 15 |
| Cranbrook | Lone Pine Rd. | Bloomfield Hills |
| Derby Street--Grand Trunk Western Railroad Bridge | Derby St. over GTW Railroad | Birmingham |
| Detroit Zoological Park | 8450 W. Ten Mile Rd. | Huntington Woods & Royal Oak |
| Downtown Holly Commercial District | Roughly bounded by Mapple St., S. Broad St., Grand Trunk RR, and First St. | Holly |
| Eagle Theater | 11-15 S. Saginaw St. | Pontiac |
| Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic District | 140 Elizabeth Lake Rd. | Pontiac |
| Everts, Caleb, House | 8880 Hickory Ridge Rd. | Davisburg |
| Highland United Methodist Church | 205 W. Livingston Rd. | Highland |
| Hirst Hotel | 110 Battle Alley | Holly |
| Holly Union Depot | 223S. Broad St. | Holly |
| Howard, Horatio N., House | 403 N. Saginaw | Pontiac |
| Hubbard--Kesby House | 1965 W. Dawson Rd. | Milford |
| Hunter, John W., House | 556 W. Maple Rd. | Birmingham |
| Indian Lake Road Stone Arch Bridge | Indian Lake Rd., E of M24 | Orion |
| Lathrup Village Historic District Roughly bounded by city limit | Red River Dr., I-696, Middlesex Ave., Meadowbrook Way, and Margate Ave. | Lathrup Village |
| Meadow Brook Farms | 480 S. Adams Rd. | Rochester |
| Milford Rural Agricultural School | 630 Hickory St. | Milford |
| Modern Housing Corporation Addition Historic District | Roughly bounded by Montcalm St., Perry St., Joslyn Ave., Gage St., Glenwood, and Nelson St. | Pontiac |
| Myrick-Palmer House | 223 W. Huron St. | Pontiac |
| North Milford Village Historic District | Historic area of North Milford Village | Milford |
| Oak Hill Cemetery | 216 University Dr. | Pontiac |
| Orchard Lake Schools Historic District | Indian Trail | Orchard Lake |
| Ortonville Mill | 366 Mill St. | Ortonville |
| Pleasant Ridge Historic District | Roughly bounded by Willington Rd., Woodward Ave., Ferndale and Ridge Rd. | Pleasant Ridge |
| Pontiac Commercial Historic District | 1-29 N. Saginaw St., 5-29 W. Lawrence St., and 10-18 W. Pike St. | Pontiac |
| Pontiac Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase) | Roughly E. Huron St. and S. Saginaw St. within loop of Wide Track Dr. | Pontiac |
| Reuther, Walter P. and May Wolf, House | 3924-3950-3954 Ellamae (Oakland Township) | Rochester |
| Rowe House | 2360 Lone Tree Rd., NW of Milford | Milford |
| Sashabaw Presbyterian Church | NE of Clarkston at 5331 Maybee Rd. | Clarkston |
| Smith, Melvyn Maxwell and Sara Stein, House | 5045 Ponvalley Rd., Bloomfield Township | Pontiac |
| Sprague, Rollin, Building--Old Stone Store | 300 Main St. | Rochester |
| St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, Convent, and School | 150 E. Wide Track Dr. | Pontiac |
| Stony Creek Village Historic District | NE of Rochester on Washington Rd. | Rochester |
| Torrey, Charles, House | 1141 Foxwood Ct., Bloomfield Township | Birmingham |
| Trowbridge Road--Grand Trunk Western Railroad Bridge | Trowbridge Rd. over GTW Railroad | Bloomfield Hills |
| Waterford Village Historic District | Dubay and Pontiff Sts., Steffeus, Andersonville and Airport Rds. | Waterford |
| Western Knitting Mills | 400 Water St. | Rochester |
| Wisner House | 405 Oakland Ave. | Pontiac |
| Yerkes, Joseph D., House | 42580 Eight Mile Rd. | Novi |
| Yerkes, Robert, House | 535 E. Base Line Rd. | Northville |
In our travels we have visted many communities!
| Oakland County, Michigan | |
|---|---|
| City | Zip Code(s) |
| Auburn Hills | 48321 , 48326 |
| Berkley | 48072 |
| Birmingham | 48009 , 48012 |
| Bloomfield Hills | 48301 , 48302 , 48303 , 48304 |
| Clarkston | 48346 , 48347 , 48348 |
| Clawson | 48017 , 48398 |
| Commerce | 48382 |
| Davisburg | 48350 |
| Drayton Plains | 48330 |
| Farmington | 48331 , 48332 , 48333 , 48334 , 48335 , 48336 |
| Ferndale | 48220 |
| Hazel Park | 48030 |
| Highland | 48356 , 48357 |
| Holly | 48442 |
| Huntington Woods | 48070 |
| Independence | 48346 , 48348 |
| Keego Harbor | 48320 |
| Lakeville | 48366 |
| Lathrup Village | 48076 |
| Lake Orion | 48359 , 48360 , 48361 , 48362 |
| Leonard | 48367 |
| Milford | 48380 , 48381 |
| New Hudson | 48165 |
| Northville | 48167 , 48168 |
| Novi | 48374 , 48375 , 48376 , 48377 |
| Oak Park | 48237 |
| Oakland | 48363 |
| Orchard Lake | 48324, 48323 |
| Orion | 48359 , 48360 , 48361 , 48362 |
| Ortonville | 48462 |
| Oxford | 48370, 48371 |
| Pleasant Ridge | 48069 |
| Pontiac | 48340 , 48341 , 48342 , 48343 |
| Rochester | 48306 , 48307 , 48308 , 48309 |
| Royal Oak | 48067 , 48068 , 48073 |
| Southfield | 48034 , 48037 , 48075 , 48076 , 48086 |
| South Lyon | 48178 |
| Troy | 48083 , 48084 , 48098 , 48099 , 48007 |
| Union Lake | 48387 |
| Walled Lake | 48390 , 48391 |
| Waterford | 48327 , 48328 , 48329 |
| West Bloomfield | 48322 , 48323 , 48324 , 48325 |
| White Lake | 48383 , 48386 |
| Wixom | 48393 |
| County pages |
| Genesee County |
| Livingston County |
| Macomb County |
| Washtenaw County |
| Wayne County |