Oakland County History Collections

 

Oakland University Llibrary's Special Collections hold numerous local history resources documenting Oakland County and South East Michigan.

 

Oakland County Tax Rolls

Tax rolls and other county and city records going back to the 1830s.

 

Eugene Mack Papers

Eugene Mack was a prominent farmer and business and civic leader of Addison Township, in Oakland County. The Eugene Mack papers consist of notebooks, diaries and ledgers as well as legal documents, correspondence, receipts and other miscellaneous documents relating to his activities as a farmer, business man, and civic leader.

 

Diary of Abram Byron Coryell (1844-1902)

Coryell was a local farmer (ca 1854-1935). The original diary has been transcribed.

 

Buhl Estate Photo Album

Photos of the estate on section 33 of Addison Township, setted by the Shoemaker and Snyder families in the 1830s and owned by Lawrence D. Buhl in 1927-1965. The estate is now part of the Addison Oaks County Park.

 

Records of Oakland County Tuberculosis Sanatorium (1929-1949)

Correspondence of the sanatorium's business manager. The sanatorium operated from 1927 to 1964, when the building and property were sold to Oakland Community College.

 

Pontiac Oral Histories Collection, 1975-1977

This project of the OU Urban Affairs in 1975-1977 documented the experiences of African Americans in Pontiac. 39 oral histories address all aspects of life in Pontiac before World War II from working conditions to churches.

Learn more about the collection's origin.

 

Charles Ferry Papers

Manuscript materials from Charles Ferry (1926-2007), a Rochester area author of children's books who won the Best Books for Young Adults award of the American Library Association twice.

 

Oakland Press (formerly Pontiac Press)

A rich photographic archive of the Oakland Press since the 1960s, along with a complete microfilm collection of all issues since 1845 and print copies of some issues from 1851 to 1905.

This newspaper, based in Pontiac, has long been one of the main newspapers in Oakland County.

 

City of Troy historical Records

Copies of the City of Troy historical records from 1933 to the mid-1970s, including Troy Township Board meeting minutes, City Commission meeting minutes, and Audits and Financial Summaries

 

Troy newspapers

Troy Somerset-Gazette (1980-1995) - microfilm

Troy Observer & Eccentric (misc. issues, 1974-2000) - microfilm

 

Local Historical Organizations

Rochester Hills Historic District Commission meeting minutes, Sept. 10, 1987

Oakland County Historical Commission meeting minutes, 1983-1986

Pontiac Historic District Commission meeting minutes, 1986-1989

Report of the Farmington Hills Ad Hoc Historic District Committee, 1980

Avon Historical Preservation Committee correspondence and misc. materials, 1985

Reliving the Rochester Era (Rochester-Avon Historical Society Newsletter), 1993-1995

Oakland Gazette (Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society), 1968-1985

Oakland Gazette Supplement (Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society), November 1974
(Moser Wisner family)

Oakland Heritage News (Oakland Township Historical Society Newsletter), Summer 2002

Local newspapers and newsletters

Rochester Today, 1983-1997

Celebrate Rochester, May 21, 1986 (Supplement to the Pied Piper Publications)

Special edition of the Oakland Press (Aug. 7, 1994) highlighting Harold Fitzgerald: The Fitzgerald years, 1915-1969.

South Hill Gazette, 1987-1990

The Progressor Magazine, May 1994

Metro Detroit Relocation Guide (n.d.)

City of Rochester Hills Master Plan - Summary Brochure, 1992