66th Annual Rochester Hometown Christmas Parade

The 2017 Theme of the Rochester Hometown Christmas Parade is "Vintage Christmas", is honoring the Rochester Bicentennial along Main Street on Sunday, December 3 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The 66th event is presented by the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Parade begins at the corner of Tienken and Rochester Roads and continues south along Main Street to Third Street in Downtown Rochester. Come early to find parking and a place to watch the parade. Nice weather brings out the … [Read more...]

Gail Kemler Celebrates a Century

Rochester is marking the 200th anniversary of its founding this year, and local resident Gail Kemler has witnessed almost half of the town’s two centuries of history. Kemler, of Rochester Hills, is planning to celebrate her 100th birthday at the end of this month, in the company of scores of family and friends. Gail Johnson Kemler was born October 28, 1917 in Brookfield, Illinois, where her father worked on a railroad line. When Kemler was four years old, her mother became seriously ill and … [Read more...]

Experience Mass Transit from 1838 with the a Canal Tour

Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal Tour Tour leaves from and returns to the Rochester Hills Museum. Guests coming from Macomb County may choose to meet at the Clinton Township Historical Village Museum at 40700 Romeo Plank Rd., Clinton Twp. Saturday, September 30, 2017 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Rochester Hills Museum Members $10; Non-members $17 – Cost includes lunch. Advanced Registration required at rochesterhills.org/museum. *Please register by September 25 in order for arrangements to be made for … [Read more...]

Rochester Homecoming Schedule Announced

Celebrate Rochester's Bicentennial on Saturday, August 12, Noon to 10:00 p.m. Live music, mobile farm, kids activities, food, balloon glow, fireworks and more. The day kicks off at 10:00 a.m. with the Rochester Bicentennial Monument Ribbon Cutting. For More Information or call 248-656-0060. … [Read more...]

Rochester Bicentennial Kick Off Pancake Breakfast to Neighborhood House Program

Proceeds to Benefit the Neighborhood House Capital Campaign Rochester will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of its founding in 1817. To kick off the events, Neighborhood House, in partnership with the Rochester Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and the Rochester Fire Department, invites the community for a pancake breakfast from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Children (and those who are kids at heart) are welcome to tour the fire trucks during the breakfast. The price of the breakfast will be … [Read more...]

Travel Back in Time 200 Years for a Walk Through Downtown Rochester

A Walk in Time Meet in Downtown Rochester at the white tent next to Catching Fireflies, 203 W. University. Thursday, July 27 and August 3, from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Museum Members $5; Nonmembers $7. Travel back in time along Rochester’s Main Street, to witness true stories of the past. Costumed re-enactors will entertain with actual events that happened during Rochester’s 200 years. Limited tickets available. Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen … [Read more...]

Brothers of the Brush Unite

Brothers of the Brush Unite at the Greater Rochester Heritage Days In honor of the City’s Bicentennial Celebration, the Greater Rochester Heritage Days is proud to welcome back the Brothers of the Brush Beard & Mustache Growing Contest. Last held in 1969, this event invites men to do their civic duty and grow a mustache, full beard or goatee as a part of the Bicentennial Celebration. The Brothers of the Brush Beard & Mustache Growing Contest will take place on Sunday, May 21, … [Read more...]

The Battle for Avon Township, Rochester and Rochester Hills, A Tale of Two Cities

As we celebrate the founding of Rochester during 2017, we must also note that Rochester Hills shares the same anniversary. Both Rochester and Avon Township - today’s Rochester Hills - received their first non-native settlers in 1817. Some of the founding Graham family members built their home in what is now the City of Rochester. The rest of them moved out to the area that is now the intersection of Avon & Livernois Roads, becoming the first white settlers of what would become Avon … [Read more...]

Who was James Graham, the Founder of Rochester

An 1877 Oakland County history book records that on March 17, 1817, a small band of emigrants followed the Clinton River inland from Mount Clemens and stopped at the place we know today as Rochester. Here they founded the first non-native settlement in what would later become Oakland County. The group included James Graham, his wife Mary Vandemark, their son Alexander and his wife, their son Benjamin, and Christopher Hartsough. Descendants of the Graham patriarch would remain in the greater … [Read more...]