County Past
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Oakland County, Michigan

Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.

—newspaper titles
—digitized titles
86historic places
—earliest paper
1820formed
1,274,395pop. 2020
112cemeteries
—CW battlefields

At a glance

Summary

The National Register of Historic Places includes 86 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1969; 2 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Pontiac, Rochester, Bloomfield Hills.

Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.

Newspapers

Library of Congress

Newspaper directory data for Michigan is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Oakland titles at the Library of Congress.

National Register of Historic Places

NPS NRHP

43 of 86 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.

86 listed properties
PropertyCityTypeListed
Affleck, Gregor S. and Elizabeth B., HouseBloomfield HillsBuilding1985
Albertson, Eli and Sidney Teeter, HouseOakland TownshipBuilding2002
Aldrich, Royal, HouseFarmington HillsBuilding1994
Andrews-Leggett HouseCommerceBuilding1987
Apple Island Historic Archaeological SiteOrchard Lake VillageSite2018
Axford-Coffin FarmOakland TownshipDistrict2002
B and C Grocery BuildingRoyal OakBuilding2006
Botsford InnFarmingtonBuilding1979
Botsford-Graser HouseFarmington HillsBuilding2002
Brooks FarmTroyBuilding1972
Bull, Elijah, HouseBloomfield TownshipBuilding2022
Casa del Rey ApartmentsPontiacBuilding1989
Caswell HouseTroyBuilding1972
Central SchoolPontiacBuilding1984
Clarkston Village Historic DistrictClarkston VillageDistrict1980
Cranbrook NHLBloomfield HillsDistrict1973
Derby Street-Grand Trunk Western Railroad BridgeBirminghamStructure2000
Detroit Finnish Co-operative Summer CampWixomDistrict2007
Detroit Zoological ParkHuntington Woods/Royal OakDistrict1990
Downtown Holly Commercial DistrictHollyDistrict1986
Eagle TheaterPontiacBuilding1984
Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic DistrictPontiacDistrict1981
Eastern Michigan Asylum Historic District (Boundary Decrease)PontiacDistrict1981
Endicott, John & Mary Elizabeth Booth, HouseBloomfield HillsBuilding2008
Everts, Caleb, HouseDavisburgBuilding1980
Fairgrove Avenue Historic DistrictPontiacDistrict1985
Farmington Historic DistrictFarmingtonDistrict1976
First Methodist Episcopal Church of FarmingtonFarmingtonBuilding2014
Foote, Dr. Henry K., HouseMilfordBuilding1985
Franklin Boulevard Historic DistrictPontiacDistrict1983
Franklin Historic DistrictFranklinDistrict1969
Franklin Historic District (Boundary Increase)FranklinDistrict2005
Fuerst, Jacob and Rebecca, FarmsteadNoviDistrict1997
Gillespie Street-Clinton River BridgePontiacStructure2000
Grace, John, SchoolSouthfieldBuilding2023
Grand Trunk Western Railroad Birmingham DepotBirminghamBuilding1985
Griggs Brothers-Rochester Elevator Company Grain ElevatorRochesterStructure2010
Grinnell Brothers Music HousePontiacBuilding1984
Highland United Methodist ChurchHighlandBuilding1981
Hilzinger BlockRoyal OakBuilding2006
Hirst HotelHollyBuilding1980
Holly Union DepotHollyBuilding2000
Howard, Horatio N., HousePontiacBuilding1984
Hubbard-Kesby HouseMilfordBuilding1996
Hunter, John W., HouseBirminghamBuilding1972
Indian Lake Road Stone Arch BridgeOrionStructure2005
Lake Orion Historic DistrictLake OrionDistrict2006
Lathrup Village Historic DistrictLathrup VillageDistrict1998
Lower Trout Lake Bathhouse Complex and Contact StationAuburn HillsDistrict2013
McCoy, Kittie C., HouseCommerceBuilding2009
Meadow Brook Farms NHLRochesterBuilding1979
Milford Rural Agricultural SchoolMilfordBuilding1992
Modern Housing Corporation Addition Historic DistrictPontiacDistrict1989
Myrick-Palmer HousePontiacBuilding1970
Newberry, Milo Prentice, HouseRochesterBuilding2018
North Milford Village Historic DistrictMilfordDistrict2000
Northland GardensSouthfieldDistrict2020
O'Dell, H. Augustus and Agnes Cleveland, House-Inch HouseBloomfield HillsBuilding2009
Oak Hill CemeteryPontiacSite1989
Orchard Lake Schools Historic DistrictOrchard LakeDistrict1982
Ortonville MillOrtonvilleBuilding1971
Oxford Downtown Historic DistrictOxfordDistrict2019
Pleasant Ridge East Historic DistrictPleasant RidgeDistrict2007
Pleasant Ridge Historic DistrictPleasant RidgeDistrict1992
Pleasant Ridge Historic District (Boundary Increase)Pleasant RidgeDistrict2010
Plumbrooke EstatesSouthfieldDistrict2019
Pontiac Commercial Historic DistrictPontiacDistrict1984
Pontiac Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase)PontiacDistrict1989
Reuther, Walter P. and May Wolf, HouseRochesterDistrict2002
Rowe HouseMilfordBuilding1975
Sashabaw Presbyterian ChurchClarkstonBuilding1980
Scripps, William Edmund and Nina A. Downey, EstateLake OrionDistrict2007
Smith, Melvyn Maxwell and Sara Stein, HousePontiacBuilding1997
Sprague, Rollin, Building-Old Stone StoreRochesterBuilding1999
St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, Convent, and SchoolPontiacBuilding1989
Stony Creek Village Historic DistrictRochesterDistrict1972
Taliaferro, Thomas W. and Margaret, HouseBloomfield HillsBuilding2011
Torrey, Charles, HouseBirminghamBuilding1992
Walbri HallBloomfield TownshipBuilding2022
Waterford Village Historic DistrictWaterfordDistrict1979
Webster, Elmer R., SchoolPontiacBuilding2022
Western Knitting MillsRochesterBuilding2000
Wisner HousePontiacBuilding1970
Yamasaki, Minoru & Teruko, HouseBirminghamBuilding2013
Yerkes, Joseph D., HouseNoviBuilding1984
Yerkes, Robert, HouseNorthvilleBuilding1973

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.

County formation

Newberry AHCB

Oakland was formed in 1820 (1820-03-28) from Macomb.

OAKLAND created by Michigan Territory from MACOMB.

Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

Population by decade

Census

Oakland County population from 1820 to 2020 (Census historical series).

1.3M637k3301820184018801920196020002020
182018401860188019001920194019501960198020002020
33023,64638,26141,53744,79290,050254,068396,001690,2591,011,7931,194,1561,274,395

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.

Cemeteries & historical places

USGS GNIS

112 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.

Cemeteries — 80 of 112 listed
NameLatLon
Aaron Webster Cemetery42.63139-83.22333
Acacia Park Cemetery42.5217-83.21965
All Saints Cemetery42.70194-83.44
Andersonville Cemetery42.73028-83.48722
B'Nai Israel Memorial Garden42.49713-83.46819
Bald Eagle Lake Cemetery42.82208-83.43867
Beach Road Cemetery42.59364-83.19799
Beebe Cemetery42.73836-83.64689
Beekman Cemetery42.50979-83.21778
Berridge Cemetery42.75139-83.26889
Bigelow Cemetery42.77975-83.52356
Bigler Cemetery42.73851-83.21483
Bloomfield Center Cemetery (historical)42.58111-83.25639
Brandon Township Cemetery42.82205-83.43842
Bridge Lake Cemetery42.74503-83.47744
Brookins Cemetery42.77639-83.65222
Carmer Cemetery42.87214-83.45286
Case Cemetery42.7917-83.353
Christ Church Cranbrook Columbarium42.5672-83.24389
Christian Memorial Estates42.65424-83.1234
Clifton Cemetery42.79003-83.0991
Clover Hill Park Cemetery42.53503-83.18854
Commerce Village Burying Ground42.5917-83.47549
Crescent Hills Cemetery42.6692-83.38772
Crooks Cemetery42.57283-83.16824
Davisburg Cemetery42.75447-83.5305
Drayton Plains Cemetery42.68917-83.38611
East Farmington Cemetery42.50031-83.32965
East Lawn Cemetery42.7775-83.22546
Eaton Cemetery42.87142-83.42022
Evergreen Cemetery42.78761-83.24632
Farmington Quaker Cemetery42.46389-83.38583
First United Methodist Church of Birmingham Columbarium42.54552-83.2332
Four Towns Cemetery42.61861-83.41111
Franklin Cemetery42.52278-83.30694
Granger Cemetery42.6692-83.49411
Great Lakes National Cemetery42.85789-83.62262
Greenwood Cemetery42.55392-83.22382
Hadley Cemetery42.83031-83.56273
Highland Cemetery42.64317-83.61942
Hillview Memorial Gardens42.70924-83.46441
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery42.48142-83.30271
Hosner Family Cemetery42.53957-83.3795
Kingsbury Cemetery42.87139-83.20167
Kirk in the Hills Columbarium42.58168-83.29461
Kline Cemetery42.76864-83.13771
Knapp Cemetery42.45201-83.46919
Lakeside Memorial Cemetery42.79892-83.61634
Lakeview Cemetery42.72641-83.42716
Lakeville Cemetery42.81357-83.15631
Lyon Township Cemetery42.44917-83.57278
Machpelah Cemetery42.45079-83.13153
Memorial Gardens42.47767-83.4169
Milford Memorial Cemetery42.5875-83.58333
Mount Avon Cemetery42.67772-83.14217
Mount Bethel Cemetery42.80249-83.4925
Mount Hope Cemetery42.62669-83.31521
New Hudson Cemetery42.51332-83.61666
North Farmington Cemetery42.51808-83.37826
North Oxford Cemetery42.86226-83.23954
Novi Cemetery42.47748-83.47579
Oak Grove Cemetery42.58194-83.59306
Oak Hill Cemetery42.64371-83.28456
Oak Hill Cemetery42.80644-83.64312
Oakland Cemetery42.7018-83.18513
Oakland County Cemetery42.6614-83.32736
Oakland Hills Memorial Gardens Cemetery42.49808-83.47187
Oakview Cemetery42.50058-83.13937
Oakwood Cemetery42.46947-83.38501
Oakwood Mount Pleasant Cemetery42.87253-83.3357
Old Kensington Cemetery42.51666-83.66999
Olive Branch Cemetery42.79086-83.56467
Ortonville Cemetery42.85527-83.45805
Ottawa Park Cemetery42.71474-83.40549
Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery42.80965-83.27039
Oxbow Lakeside Cemetery42.6403-83.47882
Oxford Township Cemetery42.82484-83.27634
Paint Creek Cemetery42.74689-83.17974
Perrin Cemetery42.53986-83.18547
Perry Cemetery42.77887-83.22508

Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.

Historical markers

HMdb link

Marker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.

Search HMdb for Oakland County, Michigan

Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.