History and Christmas make a perfect pair. Holiday movies and books, cherished ornaments, carols, and favorite cookie recipes remind us of the best of Christmases past. The season abounds with nostalgia. What better way to commemorate all that holiday “auld lang syne” than with a gift of local history? Our community is fortunate to have many local history organizations that successfully maintain our ties to the past. A gift of local history – from the shops of a local museum, historical society or downtown merchant – helps to support historic preservation and programming in the community. …

From the days of Stoney Creek Christmases in the 1860s to the Big, Bright Lights of the digital age, Santa Claus has held a special place in the hearts and minds of local believers young and old. His appearance has changed little over the past 150 years – a look deemed “modern” when compared to a time when Santa was more commonly known as Father Christmas or St. Nicholas. For decades, newspapers like the Rochester Clarion and Rochester Era embraced and immortalized Santa Claus as a jolly, plump old man with a snowy white beard and dressed head to toe in a suit of red with white trim, a red …

Editor's note: This is part two of a two-part look at the correspondance of Rochester teacher Calvin Greene and writer Henry David Thoreau. Read Part One: Rochester Teacher Writes to Thoreau, Who Replies With Books, Gratitude. In 1856, a school teacher and principal from Rochester named Calvin Harlow Greene read a review of Henry David Thoreau's Walden in a New York newspaper. Greene was a lover of literature and owner of a saw and cider mill on the banks of the Clinton River in what is now Rochester Hills. He was intrigued enough by the reviewer's description of Thoreau's work to purchase a …

In 1856, Henry David Thoreau was delighted to learn that news of his book, Walden, had reached “far off Michigan” when a young man from Rochester wrote to the author seeking to purchase an earlier work. With that one letter, Calvin Harlow Greene began a four-year correspondence with Thoreau that evolved into personal visits with Thoreau’s family and the acquisition of a significant piece of Thoreauvian history. Thoreau’s Walden Walden by Henry David Thoreau is one of the world’s most recognized literary works. It was written during the two years Thoreau lived alone in the woods in the 1840s …

Years of work and countless hours clocked by local historians, history students and volunteers have culminated in the recent release of two major publications about local history. The first is a print publication detailing a 20-year archaeological excavation on the property of the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. The second is a new website featuring an interactive map of local historic sites and resources. These two newly released publications are among the most significant contributions made to the preservation of local history, genealogy and anthropology in the past two decades. …

Years of work and countless hours clocked by local historians, history students and volunteers have culminated in the recent release of two major publications about local history. The first is a print publication detailing a 20-year archaeological excavation on the property of the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. The second is a new website featuring an interactive map of local historic sites and resources. These two newly released publications are among the most significant contributions made to the preservation of local history, genealogy and anthropology in the past two decades. …

Editor's note: This story was originally published on Patch on Oct. 11, 2011. The Haven Sanitarium, a mental facility rumored to have treated the rich and famous, including Hollywood movie stars, once stood along Walton Boulevard near Old Perch on land now occupied by the Grosse Pines subdivision. Once the opulent home of industrialist Fred M. Shinnick and his wife, Lillian Graham, The Haven became a working mental institution from 1933 to 1968. The structure stood for another five years before succumbing to deterioration and vandals and burning to the ground in 1973. Here's the story of the …

For nearly a year, members of the Oakland Township Historical Society have been busy gathering artifacts, viewing photos and researching the history of Goodison for a new local history and heritage exhibit titled, “Goodison . . . Our History Centers on the Mill,” opening Saturday at the Paint Creek Cider Mill. The exhibit will highlight Goodison’s rich historical roots with several items on display, including letters, antiques and memorabilia – some of which have never before been seen by the public – all telling a part of Goodison’s story from its pre-settlement days of the early 1800s to …

Lovers of history and literature alike are in for a treat this month when the Rochester Hills Public Library and the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm present “Louisa May Alcott: Through Her Eyes,” a program about the life and times of the beloved American writer, known for her most popular novel, Little Women. The family-friendly event will include a presentation about the history of Rochester and what life was like in the community during the 19th century when Alcott lived, as well as musical entertainment by banjo player Tim Twiss and a special guest who will present Alcott in …

Over the years, a lot has been written about Needham Hemingway, his grist mill – which he built in 1835 near what is today the Paint Creek Cider Mill – and the mill race he hand-dug to power his mill. But did you know that while the grist mill was demolished sometime in the 1940s or 1950s, one of the original structures from Hemingway’s mill complex still stands and is located at 4450 Collins Road? Hemingway was born in Canandaigua, NY in 1793 and came to Michigan in the early 1820s, long before Michigan became a state in 1837. In Heritage of Oakland Township, Delta Kelly and Barbara …

Oakland Township residents love history, and they particularly enjoy preserving the township’s history. Following the successful preservation of the 1879 Flumerfelt Barn is the restoration of the Cranberry Lake Farm Main House, as well as the completion of the township’s sixteen-acre Cranberry Lake Historic District. This Friday, the Oakland Township Historic District Commission will host a ceremony celebrating this achievement; the event will include tours of the 2,000 square foot farmhouse and other buildings on the site, light refreshments and a woodwind quintet concert sponsored by the …

It’s rare to see people smiling and having a good time in photos from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Those posing for the photos were at the mercy of long exposure times, which required sitting still for several seconds – too long to hold a smile in place and keep it looking natural. Flipping through old photos in an antique shop, you’ll see all sorts of men, ladies and children devoid of emotion standing or sitting rather stoically without a hint of enjoyment. And can you imagine if a photographer kept you upright and still with an iron brace up your back? Some did then, and that surely …

Vandalism is nothing new. It’s always been around, and it happens in nearly every community at some time or another. Often, the vandal’s tool of choice is paint, which can be sprayed or brushed onto a myriad of “canvasses,” including buildings, overpasses, bridges and even cows. Yes, cows. Fifty years ago, the news of a vandalized Oakland Township cow made headlines as far away as Missouri, where the St. Joseph News-Press reported the strange story on Nov. 10, 1961. Under the headline “Admits Painting Farmers Bull,” the story came from the Associated Press in Pontiac.   “When farmer John …

History is filled with countless predictions about the end of the world as we know it.  The latest one says today — May 21, 2011 — is the day. But the world hasn't ended, just as it didn't end Oct. 22, 1844, the day Avon Township resident Uriah Adams and his followers believed would be their final day on Earth before their ascension to heaven. In the 1840s, Adams became enamored with the Millerites, an extremist religious group founded by New York farmer William Miller, who — through his study and interpretation of the Bible, particularly the book of Daniel — developed a chronology of the …

The annual Earl E. Borden Historic Preservation Awards were presented this evening at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. Three awards were given during a special meeting of the Historic Districts Commission of the City of Rochester Hills. Created in 1989, the awards honor the late Earl Borden, former supervisor of Avon Township (now Rochester Hills) and first mayor of Rochester Hills who was also a staunch supporter of historic preservation. In a press release issued Wednesday, the city of Rochester Hills noted that he was “instrumental in obtaining the Van Hoosen farm for uses as…

This May marks the seventh annual National Preservation Month, an event sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This year’s theme, “Celebrating America’s Treasures,” encourages everyone to recognize the historical treasures all around them. Whether it’s a barn, house, church, museum, or tree, there are many sites across America and in our own backyards that have made significant contributions to the American story. The aim of the National Trust for Historic Preservation is to educate the public about how preserving historical resources enriches both our cultural and …

Quaint little white churches with stained glass windows, steeples and bell towers are part of the American rural landscape. We speed past them in our cars, perhaps thinking briefly how pretty or charming they look standing along the road. Rarely do we stop to realize how important those churches are to the people who attend them and to the communities they serve. Just as the kitchen is often the heart of the home, many of these churches continue to be the heart of their towns and villages. They have stories to share, too. But what stories could white clapboards tell? For some, a building and …

Will your name be spoken in public or make headlines 132 years from now? If it does, let’s hope it’s for a good reason, as it is for John H. Flumerfelt and his family, who lived and worked in both Oakland and Avon (now Rochester Hills) townships in the 1800s. They probably never imaged that the Flumerfelt name would be a source of pride among township residents well into the 21st century. But it is, and the name is being mentioned a lot lately. Recently, Oakland Township Patch reported that the Michigan Barn Preservation Network (MBPN) – a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the …

The Oakland Township Board of Trustees is considering a proposal from the Clinton River Watershed Council to remove the Paint Creek Dam in Oakland Township. The dam sits upstream from the Paint Creek Cider Mill in Paint Creek, which flows southeast from Brandon Township to Rochester, where it feeds into the Clinton River. The Clinton River Watershed Council calls the proposal a “win-win-win,” while township historians see it as yet another challenge to their attempts to preserve the few historical sites left in the area. At the heart of the opposition to removing the dam is the historic Paint…

For many years, I’ve heard rumors that famed American writer Ernest Hemingway was related to one of Oakland Township’s early settlers, Needham Hemingway. A few months ago, I contacted the Michigan Hemingway Society asking them if they knew of a connection. Unfortunately, the society was unaware of an association between the two, but encouraged further research. So, with tremendous thanks to the internet and a variety of published family trees, I have found a genealogical link between Needham and Ernest Hemingway. While Ernest’s connection to Goodison and Oakland Township is a distant one, it’…