Historical Markers in
Oakland County, Michigan

100 Year Anniversary 1840 Van Hoosen Farmhouse 1850 Red House 1927 Van Hoosen Calf Barn/1927 Van Hoosen Bull Barn 1927 Van Hoosen Dairy Barn 911 Memorial...Never Forget A City On Wheels A Ford Village Industry A Lake and a Trolley A Piece of Novi's History / The Fuerst Farmstead A Record Of Innovation Aldrich House American Legion Post 374 Veterans Memorial Amos Orton's Grist Mill An Advocate for Parks An Advocate for Parks Apple Island Apple Island Approaching "Novi Corners" Arthur's Park Automobile Financing Axford-Coffin Farm Barn Church Battle Alley Becoming Clarkston Before lawn mowers... Bell Building Berkley Old Village/Fire Hall Berkley School Cornerstone Berkley Veterans Memorial Billy McBride Building Boorn-Halsted House Botsford Inn Buckhorn Corners Building Bodies Building Clarkston History Building Trucks In Pontiac Built for Fun Carpenter-Rudd Mill Carriage Barn Replica Carver Elementary School Chapman Pond Charles Chapman Estate Charles Wixom House Chief Pontiac Church of Saint Bede City Hall City of Farmington City of Rochester, Michigan Civil War Memorial Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal Colonel Samuel White / Samuel White Homestead Commerce Roller Mill Commerce United Methodist Congregation / Commerce United Methodist Church Commerce Village Burying Ground Conglomerate Boulder Congregation Beth El / Temple Beth El Congregation Shaarey Zedek Crapo Park David Simmons House Decker Settlement / Jesse Decker Deputy Albert Anderson Detroit Finnish Co-operative Summer Camp Association / Detroitin Suomailinen Kesaleiriyhdistys Detroit United Railway Detroit United Railway and Car Barn Detroit Zoological Park Disaster Strikes at Rochester Depot Dr. Firman W. Clawson Homestead Site Drawn by Water Eaton Cabinet & Chair Factory Eber Durham House Edsel Ford's Leadership Edward Beals House Eli Stodgell House Elizabeth Denison Forth Emmendorfer House / Francis A. Emmendorfer Evangelical Association / Ferndale Fun Fact #3 / Ferndale History Farmington Masonic Temple and Farmington Township Hall Farmington/Farmington Hills Baseline Obelisk Farmington's First Post Office Ferndale Center Building Ferndale School Ferndale State Bank / Ferndale Fun Fact #1 / Ferndale History Field Building First Baptist Church First Baptist Church of Royal Oak First Methodist Episcopal Church First Oakland County Explorers First Presbyterian Church First Presbyterian Church First Quaker Meeting Five and Dime Ford Building Ford Wixom Assembly Plant Forestry Mowing for Habitat Restoration Four Towns Methodist Church Fractional District School Franklin Boulevard Historic District Franklin Cemetery Franklin Community Church Franklin Village Franklin Village School Fred A. Baker House Freedom Acres From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry From Sibley's Corners to Wixom From Trail To Pavement Fuller Grist Mill / Woolen Mill Gateway to Nature Genevieve Gillette George Vandeventer House Getting Here Glen Oaks Go in Peace Goodenough - Spicer Stable Gov. Fred M. Warner Grand River Avenue Grand River Bridge Gray - Spicer House Great Migrations Green School Bell Greenwood Cemetery Hamilton Jones House Harry Frink House Hathaway-Hess Farm Haven Hill Carriage House Haven Hill Farm Haven Hill Gatehouse Haven Hill Lodge Hazel Park Veterans Memorial Heeney-Sundquist Funeral Home, Inc. Henry C. Bach House Hibbard Tavern High Performance Legend Historic Green Historical Marker Holly's Town Hall Howard & Howard Howarth School Huston Building In Good Company In Memory of Vincent Chin Indian Trail Inspiration Road Intersecting Lines John Garfield House Johnston-Shaw Building Kelley-Fisk Farm Ken and Dorothy Stewart Kirby White House Knapp Cemetery Kreger Farm Buildings Lake Norcentra Lake Orion Methodist Church Lakes and Attractions Lakeville Auxiliary Hall Lakeville Cemetery Lawrence Institute of Technology Lawrence Simmons House Learning and Growing Lemuel Botsford House Little Village Chapel Made in Pontiac Making Tracks on Main Street Mann School Many Friends, Many Flags Mary Thompson Farm Mary Thompson House Masonic Block McCabe Funeral Home Meadow Brook Hall Memorial Marker Methodist Episcopal Church Methodist Episcopal Church of Highland Station Michigan's Auto Industry Michigan's First Tri-level Intersection Milford at Work Milford Rural Agricultural School Milford's Water Works Building Molten Metal Mont Eagle Motley Lights Mount Avon Cemetery Nardin Park United Methodist Church New Life for Children Newman African Methodist Episcopal Church North Farmington North Farmington Cemetery Notable Neighbors Novi Baseline Obelisk Novi Cemetery Novi Township Hall Novi's Crucial Crossing Oak Grove Cemetery Oak Hill Cemetery Oak Hill Cemetery Oakland County Boat Club Oakland County Fallen Heroes Memorial Oakland County World War I Memorial Oakwood Cemetery Orchard Lake Chapel Orchard Lake Schools / Joseph Tarr Copeland Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail Orson Starr Home Ortonville Methodist Episcopal Church Ortonville Veterans Memorial Ortonville World War I Memorial Outdoor Attractions Outstanding Architecture Oxford Savings Bank Oxford Vietnam Memorial Oxford World War II Memorial Paint Creek Cemetery Paint Creek Cider Mill Paint Creek Millrace Parades and People-Watching Pasadena Park Pavilion Shore Park Pettibone Creek Hydroelectric Station Pettibone Creek Mills Pettibone Grist Mill 1846 Phelps Saw Mill and Distillery Pioneer & Merriman Apartments / Ferndale Fun Fact #2 / Ferndale History Pioneer Cemetery Polar Bears Pontiac Monument Pontiac Public Library Pontiac Thrived Pontiac's Coach Builders Predmore House Presbyterian Church Priscilla Calkins Prior House Quaker Burial Ground Rapid Transformation Remembering Historic Railways Remembering Historic Railways Ridge Road Robert E. Cornillie's Vision Rochester Rochester Opera House Rochester Paper Mill Rochester Train Depot and Rochester Elevator Rollin Sprague Building Roseland Park Mausoleum Rowe House Royal Oak Methodist Episcopal Church Royal Oak Post Office Tragedy Royal Oak Township Cemetery / Saint Mary Catholic Cemetery Royal Oak Volunteer Fire Department Royal Oak Woman's Club S.S. Kresge Company Saginaw Trail / John Almon Starr House Samuel Davis House Sashabaw Cemetery Sashabaw United Presbyterian Church Settling the Dust Seymour Lake Methodist Episcopal Church Shane D. Carter Sharing the Bounty Sharing the Ride Shiawassee Indian Trail Slater-Montgomery Family Chapel Sleepy Hollow Southfield Cemetery Southfield Center Southfield Centre Southfield Methodist Episcopal Church Southfield Town Hall Southfield Township Site Southfield Township Volunteer Fire Department Southfield United Presbyterian Church Spicer Barn Spicer House St. Patrick Church St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center St. Vincent de Paul Church St. Vincent De Paul World War II Memorial Stephen Yerkes Rodgers House Stonecrest Stoney Creek School Stoney Creek Village Stony Creek Cemetery Stony Creek Masonic Lodge No. 5/Mount Moriah Sylvan Lake Inn Territorial Road The Academy of the Sacred Heart The Badder Building The Birmingham Theater Building The Castle The Chene House The Courthouse / Oakland County The Covenanter Church / The Underground Railroad The Crow's Nest The Erity-Nixon Building The Flumerfelt Barn The Great Blues The Great Escape The Hammer The Harger House The Haven Hill Getaway The Inter-Urban Railcar - Detroit United Railway The Kresge Foundation The Lux Building The Maxon Estate The Minnow Pond The National Bank Building The Nelson Clark Home The Oak Leaf The Old Mill The Orchard Lake Museum The Paint Creek Cider Mill The Pettibone House The Philbrick Tavern The Polar Bears The Potawatomi Indians of Farmington The Professional Building The Quarton Building The Royal Oak The Shain Townhouses The Torch The Utley Cemetery The Village Center The Village Of Highland Station The Walker/Wixom Tavern The Worker's Camp Theron Murray House This is the Site of the Holly Milling Co. Three-faced Clock Township Hall Traces of History Tracks Over Tracks Travel Through Time Troy Corners Troy Township Validation Testing Van Every Gristmill Versatile Vehicles Waiting for the Trolleys Waiting Room and the "Wye" Walled Lake Walled Lake Casino Walter Flanders / Flanders Garage Ward Eagle Home Warming House Renovation Washburn School Water Wheel Wattles House WB Parks Kiosk Welcome to Beaudette Park Wells Brothers Foundry Wessen & Bagley West Bloomfield Trail West Farmington Cemetery West Highland Cemetery Westacres Westacres Community Western Knitting Mills Western Knitting Mills and Boarding Houses Western Knitting Mills Dam and Michigan Central Railroad Bridge What Happened Here? Where Farmington Began White Lake Cemetery White Lake Township Hall William E. Scripps Wisner Stadium WWII Memorial Wixom Cemetery Wixom-Wire House Wolverine Lake Wood-Hubbell House Worth the Drive Yates Cider Mill Yates Cider Mill "Body by Fisher" "Motoring" to Pine Lake "Pine Grove" "The Stuart Little Pond" "Witch's Hat" Depot "X" Marks the Spot
Michigan is home to many iconic landmarks, including the Mackinac Bridge, the Soo Locks, and the Michigan State Capitol building. The state also boasts numerous natural attractions, such as Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
Oakland County, located in the southeastern part of Michigan, has a rich history that dates back thousands of years. The area was originally home to Native American tribes, such as the Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Huron peoples. European settlers arrived in the late 18th century, with the first permanent settlement established in what is now Pontiac in 1818.

During the 19th century, Oakland County saw rapid growth and development. The construction of the Clinton River and Oakland Plank Roads in the 1840s and the arrival of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad in the 1850s helped facilitate transportation and economic prosperity. Agriculture, logging, and mining were key industries during this time, with farming becoming the dominant livelihood for many residents.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw Oakland County transform into a major industrial hub. The rise of the automobile industry in nearby Detroit had a significant impact on the county, leading to the establishment of numerous automotive suppliers. The county also experienced suburbanization, as more people moved out of the overcrowded city and into the expanding neighborhoods of Oakland County.

Today, Oakland County is known for its vibrant communities, excellent schools, and robust economy. It has become one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, attracting businesses and residents from all over. The county continues to evolve, with ongoing efforts to balance urban development with the preservation of its natural beauty and historical sites.

This timeline provides a concise overview of the key events in the history of Oakland County, Michigan.

  • 1819 - Oakland County is officially established by the Michigan Territorial Legislature
  • 1820 - The first county seat is established in Pontiac
  • 1827 - The first courthouse is built in Pontiac
  • 1831 - The village of Auburn is founded
  • 1843 - The Michigan State Fair is held in Auburn Hills for the first time
  • 1850 - The villages of Waterford and White Lake are established
  • 1862 - The Detroit and Bay City Railroad reaches Pontiac, boosting economic development
  • 1875 - The city of Royal Oak is incorporated
  • 1928 - Construction of the Highland Park Ford Plant begins
  • 1950 - Population of Oakland County exceeds 500,000
  • 1967 - The Detroit riots have an impact on Oakland County, leading to an increase in suburbanization
  • 1970 - The Detroit Lions football team moves to Pontiac and becomes the Detroit Lions
  • 1985 - The Palace of Auburn Hills, an indoor sports and entertainment venue, opens
  • 2000 - Oakland County reaches a population of over 1 million
  • 2013 - The city of Pontiac files for bankruptcy