Historic Districts Commission Presents Preservation Awards

Rochester Hills, Michigan – The city’s Historic Districts Commission will present its annual Earl E. Borden Historic Preservation Award at a special meeting on Wednesday, May 18. The presentations will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm, 1005 Van Hoosen Road, Rochester Hills, followed by a brief reception.

This year, the HDC voted to present two of the Earl Borden Award for Historic Preservation Leadership – to Oakland County Planning and Economic Development Services, for work on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Stoney Creek and Winkler Mill Pond historic districts, and to former HDC member John Dziurman, for his long commitment and efforts on local historic preservation. The HDC also will present the Earl Borden Historic Preservation Award to the Nathaniel Brock family, for their work on their properties in the Winkler Mill Pond Historic District.

Previous winners of the Earl Borden Award include buildings that serve as quality examples of preservation/restoration and individuals or groups demonstrating activism in the field of historic preservation in Rochester Hills. The awards are presented during May, National Preservation Month. This year, the month’s theme is “Celebrating America’s Treasures.”

The award was created in 1989 by the Rochester Hills Historic Districts Commission. It honors Mr. Borden, who was instrumental in obtaining the Van Hoosen farm for use as a city-owned museum. He was a proponent of protecting our local historic heritage through education and preservation.

The HDC is a nine-member board of Rochester Hills residents appointed by City Council for three-year terms. Some of these volunteer Commissioners may reside in designated historic properties or districts; others have a clearly demonstrated interest in or knowledge of historic preservation. The City’s Historical Preservation Ordinance requires that at least two members of the Commission be members of existing preservation societies; at least one member shall be an architect, and to the extent available, City Council shall appoint an archaeologist, a historian, or an architectural historian.

For more information, please call the Planning and Economic Development Department at

248-656-4660.

Established in 1984, the City of Rochester Hills is a prosperous community offering residents and businesses superior services. Voted one of the top places to live by several sources including CNN Money magazine and RelocateAmerica.com, Rochester Hills is committed to sustaining its position among the nation’s preeminent places to live, work and raise a family. Through the city’s focus on health, education and technology, the community continues to attract forward-thinking leaders and businesses.