History

If you were to try to understand the rhyme or reason for the names of the subdivisions in Rochester Hills, you would have to interview each developer in the city.  Recognizing that our community was originally known as Avon Township when Michigan was admitted as a State in 1837, you can see this name origin throughout the community.  There is Avon Road and at least 24 subdivisions with Avon in the name such as Avon Heights which is near Avon Road and Livernois, Avon Meadows near Brewster and Tienken, Avon Manor at Auburn and John R., and Avoncrofts at Auburn and Rochester Rd.
 
Since the first subdivision--C.O. Renshaw Addition to the Village of Rochester--was platted in 1896, there have been over 400 subdivision plats approved.  Originally, developers had to meet with the Oakland County Board of Supervisors to have subdivision plats approved, however in the early 1960s Avon Township became a Charter Township and local plats were then submitted to the Avon Township Board of Trustees.  Subsequently, the Rochester Hills Planning Commission and City Council assumed responsibility for plat approval when Rochester Hills became a city in 1984.
 
In searching the plat maps and other information the following interesting data was found:

• There are 15 subdivisions with North in the title, 1 with South, 2 with East (Easthampton and Easthampton No. 2) and none with West.

• There are 26 subdivisions identified as supervisor's plats.  The last of these--Supervisor's Plat No. 12--was approved by the Oakland County Board of Supervisors in 1962.

• There are subdivisions that are named for the families who lived there and farmed the land or raised orchards of apples. 

• Eddington Farms on Rochester Road between Hamlin and Avon was named for the Eddy family.

• Juengel's Orchards was the home and the source of income for the Juengel family for several generations before they decided to sell to developers.  The area street names are all apple varieties – Boyken, Windsor, Kalhaven, Montmorency, Stark, and Regal.

• Maude and Elmer Eyster owned several pieces of property in southeast Avon Township, which were divided up for residential properties.  All of these have the Eyster name in the official title of the subdivision--Eyster's Auburn Acres, Eyster's Avon Estates, Eyster's Avon Gardens, and Eyster's Bloomer Park Subdivision.

• Marsden and Billie (Hamlin) Burch, who settled in their home on Hamlin Road after Judge Marsden Burch retired from serving in many capacities of the law in Michigan and Washington, DC, sold off much of their property which became Hamlin Place Farms subdivision (1916) and later a small portion of that property was divided off (1965) and became Bogart's Place named for Lewis and Ethel Bogart, who were proprietors of that property.

• Hitchman's Haven Estates at Walton Blvd. and the streets Texas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Colorado was named for the owners, Thomas and Lillian Hitchman. 

• Mac Kary Subdivision, which is in the southeast section of the city at Dequindre and Mackwood was named for one of the owners, Mackary Levchuk.

• Some subdivisions are named for the flora and fauna of the area–-Paint Creek, Pheasant Ring, Clinton River, Deer Run, Hawthorn Hills, Mill Stream, Riverside Highlands, and Wildflower to name a few.

• Some are poetic–-Crooks Crossing, Hidden Hills, Sunnydale Gardens, and Whispering Willows.

• Some are hopeful–-Golden Hills, Grosse Pines, The Sanctuary in the Hills.

• And some are just practical–-Coolidge Highway Subdivision and South Boulevard Gardens.

Developers are still finding land to develop in Rochester Hills. Even though the property available might be small compared to the boom years of the 1980s and 1990s, they are searching for names for subdivisions that will describe them in "saleable" terms. Let's hope that the history of the area is preserved in the new subdivision names.