Situated in eastern Oakland County, The City of Rochester Hills, Michigan is a northern suburb of the Metro Detroit Region

The city is surrounded by Oakland Township to the north, Troy to the south, Auburn Hills to the west, and Shelby Township to the east, and it surrounds Rochester in all directions but the east.

M-59 passes through the lower part of the city, connecting to I-75 just west of Rochester Hills.

Besides the abutting cities of Auburn Hills, Rochester, and Troy, other cities and villages within twenty miles of Rochester Hills include Utica, Pontiac, Clawson, Sterling Heights, Bloomfield Hills, Madison Heights, Lake Orion, Royal Oak, Sylvan Lake, Berkley, Hazel Park, Lake Angelus, Pleasant Ridge, Fraser, Keego Harbor, Birmingham, Leonard, Ferndale, Mt. Clemens, Oxford, Romeo, Roseville, Huntington Woods, Beverly Hills, Oak Park, Orchard Lake, Bingham Farms, Center Line, Warren, Lathrup Village, Franklin, Southfield, and Detroit.

The formerly independent communities of Stony Creek and Yates are now neighborhoods of Rochester Hills.

Located on the northeast end of the city, at its boundary with Rochester, Stony Creek was the first settlement on the north side of Stony Creek, the waterway for which it was named. Lemuel Taylor, Sr. came with his five sons from New York State in 1823, becoming the first settlers. A post office was established on August 16, 1825, with Nathaniel Millard as postmaster. The village was platted in 1830, although it was never incorporated.

Situated nearby, on Rochester Hill's boundary with Rochester and Shelby Township, Yates became a station on the Michigan Central Railroad in 1888.

The area that became Rochester Hills was originally settled by the Potawatomi and earlier Native American tribes, who made use of the Clinton River, which flows through the city, to grow crops, fish, and for travel. They remained in the area until forced to cede their land under the terms of the 1807 Treaty of Detroit.

The first European-American settlers came in 1817, the first permanent settler being James Graham, who came in that year. Avon Township was organized in 1835, and Rochester was incorporated as a village within the township in 1869.

In 1948, a post office was established as Brooklands, covering the area between what is now Auburn Road and Hamlin Road, to the west of Dequindre Road.

In 1966, residents in the village voted to incorporate as the City of Rochester, and this became effective in February of 1967, separating Rochester from the township.

To avoid annexation by Rochester or other neighboring cities, Avon Township filed a petition to become a city later in 1967. Three proposed city charters were rejected by residents, in 1969, 1970, and 1971. Rochester then filed to annex the township, which was denied by the Michigan Boundary Commission. In 1972, a petition was filed to consolidate Avon Township and Rochester, and this was lost by 350 votes in the township, while passing by 4 votes in Rochester in April of 1974. The following month, the Michigan Boundary Commission approved the annexation of 2.2 square miles of Avon Township by Rochester, depriving the township of its largest taxpayer. In August of 1978, the township became Avon Charter Township, which challenged the 1974 annexation but lost in 1981. An additional annexation request from Troy prompted township residents to approve a city charter in May of 1984 and, in November, Avon Township became the City of Rochester Hills.

The K-12 population for most of the city is served by Rochester Community Schools, which operates Rochester Adams High School, Rochester High School, and Stoney Creek High School in Rochester Hills. A small portion of the city is in the Avondale School District, which administers Deerfield Elementary School, Avondale Middle School, The Meadows School, and Avondale Academy within Rochester Hills.

Rochester Hills maintains fifteen public parks, and three additional areas are reserved for future parkland.

First appearing on a census roll in 1990 with a population of 61,766, Rochester Hills has increased in population each decade, with a population of 76,300 at the time of the 2020 census.

Topics related to the City of Rochester Hills, including governmental entities within the city and local businesses, industries, schools, places of worship, organizations, attractions, events, entertainment venues, and recreational opportunities, are appropriate for this portion of our guide.

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