Oakland University Library's Special Collections hold numerous local history resources documenting people, places, and events of Oakland County and South East Michigan in the 19th and 20th centuries. All are welcome to discover them in our reading or online.
Below you will find information on some of the most important local history collections for research, genealogy, and more. In addition, you can search our collections directly.
Rod and Susan Wilson are active collectors of Rochester history memorabilia with deep roots in the Rochester Avon area. They are members of numerous local and Michigan historical organizations and authors of many publications and tours on local history.
Assembled over decades, their collection includes their personal research files as well as publications, photos, manuscripts, posters, objects, and other items documenting the history of the greater Rochester area.
Note that the Wilson collection includes numerous books, magazines, and newspapers that all have a connection to Rochester, Michigan. These are either written by a Rochester-based author or deal with an aspect of Rochester's history and activities.
Browse all the books in the collection.
Browse all magazines and other periodicals.
Image: View of Main street, Rochester, Michigan, circa 1915
(from the Rod and Susan collection of Rochester History, Oakland University Archives and Special Collections)
Tax rolls and other historical records of Oakland County, Avon Township, and other selected townships, starting in the 1830s. (Print and Microfilm)
This project of Oakland University documented the experiences of Black people in Pontiac
The collection addresses all aspects of life in Pontiac during those crucial years of growth, from working conditions to discrimination, from churches to schools.
Image: Detroit Free Press, October 18, 1975.