Rochester, Michigan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rochester is a suburb of Detroit, Michigan in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,467 at the 2000 census.
Oakland University is located in Rochester, and a campus of Thomas M. Cooley Law School is located in nearby Auburn Hills. Rochester College also brings young academia to the city. Rochester Community Schools is the public school district encompassing Rochester and surrounding areas.
The city is also home to a relatively large guide dog training school, Leader Dogs for the Blind, and it is not uncommon to see guide dog teams walking around downtown and in the residential neighborhoods nearby.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
The City of Rochester is bordered on the west by the City of Rochester Hills. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.0 km² (3.9 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 10,467 people, 4,667 households, and 2,636 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,047.0/km² (2,710.6/mi²). There were 5,056 housing units at an average density of 505.7/km² (1,309.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.39% White, 2.24% African American, 0.25% Native American, 3.69% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.68% of the population.
There were 4,667 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 37.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $65,179, and the median income for a family was $92,078. Males had a median income of $62,486 versus $37,107 for females. The per capita income for the city was $36,989. About 0.6% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
The first settlers in what would become Rochester, the Graham family, built a log cabin in 1817. It was named for Rochester, New York. The city became an industrial center with abundant waterpower from the Clinton River and Paint Creek. Rochester was served by two railroads as well as the Detroit United Railway, a passenger trolley to Royal Oak and Detroit. In 1895 Rochester's population was 900. Chapman Pond, east of downtown, disappeared into the Paint Creek when the dam broke during the flood of 1946. The reclaimed land is the site of the current post office, library, and Olde Town Road. The village of Rochester became a city in 1966.
Source: Rochester-Avon Historical Society. Rochester: Preserving History, a Pictorial Journey. Rochester, Mich.
[edit] Local Attractions
1. City is at the cross section of 2 major "Rails-to-Trails" projects: the Paint Creek Trail and Clinton River trail. These trails are used for recreational activities, like biking and walking. They connect to several major parks, including Bloomer Park, Rochester Municipal Park, Stoney Creek Metropark and the Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve.
2. The Paint Creek Center for the Arts is a community non-profit art center providing studio art classes for children and adults, and a year-round exhibition of fine art.
3. The Rochester Avon Recreation Authority (RARA) has been a recreation provider to Rochester and Rochester Hills since 1946. It provides recreation programs from 12 months to adults in a variety of areas, such as dance, sports classes, sport leagues, pre-school classes, special events, fitness, skiing, etc.
4. The Older Persons Commission provides social and educational activities, nutritional meals, health and wellness to community members 60+ years of age, in a new state-of-the art facility built in 2002.
5. The Royal Park Hotel, is a four-star, four-diamond luxury hotel in downtown Rochester. It was built for $43 million. Several celebrities have stayed there, including U2'S Bono.
6. The Farmer's Market takes place every Saturday, May thru October, in downtown. It features fresh produce, flowers, handmade goods and other products from Michigan.
7. Several festivals take place in downtown: Dancing in the Streets (August), Music in the Park (Thursdays in summer), Arts and Apples Festival (Fall), and the Heritage Festival (Spring).
[edit] Trivia
1. The city has held the annual "Rochester Hometown Christmas Parade" since 1951. In 2006, the parade was telecast on local Detroit television.
2. In 2006, the city had it's first Big, Bright light show for the Chrismas season. The downtown businesses were covered in 500,000 individual lights. A panoramic view can be seen here: http://www.greatlakesap.com/recent/video/RochesterLightsPano.html.
3. Singer "Madonna" attended Rochester Adams High School.
4. Was in the top 100 of "Best Places to Live" in 2005 CNN/Money survey of Great American towns.
[edit] External links
City:
Education:
- Oakland University
- Rochester College
- Thomas M. Cooley Law School
- Rochester Hills Public Library
- Rochester Community Schools
Community:
Arts:
Recreation:
