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Oakland County, Michigan
Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its county seat is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan (behind neighboring Wayne County), and the most populous county in the United States without a city of 100,000 residents.
Founded in 1819 and organized the following year, Oakland County is composed of 62 cities, villages, and townships. In 2010, Oakland County was among the ten wealthiest counties in the United States that had over one million residents. It is also home to Oakland University, a large public institution that straddles the border between the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.
Founded by Territorial Governor Lewis Cass in 1819, sparsely populated Oakland County was formed from Macomb County on 28 March 1820. As was customary at the time, as populations increased, other counties were organized from its land area. Over the next 16 years, Oakland lost territory to the creation of the counties of Lapeer (10 Sep 1822), Saginaw (10 Sep 1822), Sanilac (10 Sep 1822), Shiawassee (10 Sep 1822), Washtenaw (10 Sep 1822), Barry (29 Oct 1829), Calhoun (29 Oct 1829), Eaton (29 Oct 1829), Ingham (29 Oct 1829), Jackson (29 Oct 1829), Kalamazoo (29 Oct 1829), Arenac (2 Mar 1831), Gladwin (2 Mar 1831), Midland (2 Mar 1831), Livingston (21 Mar 1833), and Genesee (28 Mar 1835).
Woodward Avenue and the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad helped draw settlers in the 1840s. By 1840, Oakland had more than fifty lumber mills, processing wood harvested from the region and the Upper Peninsula. Pontiac, located on the Clinton River, was Oakland's first town and became the county seat. After the Civil War, Oakland was still primarily a rural, agricultural county with numerous isolated villages. By the end of the 19th century, three rail lines served Pontiac, and the city attracted carriage and wagon factories. In the late 1890s streetcars were constructed here and operated between Detroit.[citation needed]
At that time, developers made southern Oakland County a suburb of Detroit; a Cincinnati firm platted a section of Royal Oak called "Urbanrest". Migration worked both ways. Several thousand people moved from Oakland County farms to Detroit as the city attracted factories. By 1910, a number of rich Detroiters had summer homes and some year-round residences in what became Bloomfield Hills. The auto age enveloped Pontiac in the early 1900s. The Oakland Motor Car Company was founded in 1907 and became a part of General Motors Corp., which was soon Pontiac's dominant firm.
In the 1950s, Oakland County's population boomed as Detroiters began migrating to the suburbs. While the neighboring Macomb County was more inhabited by auto workers and other blue-collar workers, Oakland County's residents tended to be more affluent and generally white-collar (e.g. doctors, lawyers). Oakland County was for a time the fourth-wealthiest county in the United States, though its position has declined somewhat since the Great Recession. The median price of a home in Oakland County increased to $164,697, more than $30,000 above the national median home value. Oakland County is home to several super-regional shopping malls such as Oakland Mall, Somerset Collection, Twelve Oaks Mall, and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 907 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 868 square miles (2,250 km2) is land and 40 square miles (100 km2) (4.4%) is water.
Oakland County was originally divided into 25 separate townships, which are listed below. Each township is roughly equal in size at six miles (9.7 km) by six miles, for a total township area of 36 square miles (93 km2). The roots of this design were born out of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the subsequent Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Oakland County itself is a prime example of the land policy that was established, as all townships are equal in size (save for slight variations due to waterways). Section 16 in each township was reserved for financing and maintaining public education, and even today many schools in Oakland County townships are located within that section.
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Oakland County, Michigan
Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its county seat is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan (behind neighboring Wayne County), and the most populous county in the United States without a city of 100,000 residents.
Founded in 1819 and organized the following year, Oakland County is composed of 62 cities, villages, and townships. In 2010, Oakland County was among the ten wealthiest counties in the United States that had over one million residents. It is also home to Oakland University, a large public institution that straddles the border between the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.
Founded by Territorial Governor Lewis Cass in 1819, sparsely populated Oakland County was formed from Macomb County on 28 March 1820. As was customary at the time, as populations increased, other counties were organized from its land area. Over the next 16 years, Oakland lost territory to the creation of the counties of Lapeer (10 Sep 1822), Saginaw (10 Sep 1822), Sanilac (10 Sep 1822), Shiawassee (10 Sep 1822), Washtenaw (10 Sep 1822), Barry (29 Oct 1829), Calhoun (29 Oct 1829), Eaton (29 Oct 1829), Ingham (29 Oct 1829), Jackson (29 Oct 1829), Kalamazoo (29 Oct 1829), Arenac (2 Mar 1831), Gladwin (2 Mar 1831), Midland (2 Mar 1831), Livingston (21 Mar 1833), and Genesee (28 Mar 1835).
Woodward Avenue and the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad helped draw settlers in the 1840s. By 1840, Oakland had more than fifty lumber mills, processing wood harvested from the region and the Upper Peninsula. Pontiac, located on the Clinton River, was Oakland's first town and became the county seat. After the Civil War, Oakland was still primarily a rural, agricultural county with numerous isolated villages. By the end of the 19th century, three rail lines served Pontiac, and the city attracted carriage and wagon factories. In the late 1890s streetcars were constructed here and operated between Detroit.[citation needed]
At that time, developers made southern Oakland County a suburb of Detroit; a Cincinnati firm platted a section of Royal Oak called "Urbanrest". Migration worked both ways. Several thousand people moved from Oakland County farms to Detroit as the city attracted factories. By 1910, a number of rich Detroiters had summer homes and some year-round residences in what became Bloomfield Hills. The auto age enveloped Pontiac in the early 1900s. The Oakland Motor Car Company was founded in 1907 and became a part of General Motors Corp., which was soon Pontiac's dominant firm.
In the 1950s, Oakland County's population boomed as Detroiters began migrating to the suburbs. While the neighboring Macomb County was more inhabited by auto workers and other blue-collar workers, Oakland County's residents tended to be more affluent and generally white-collar (e.g. doctors, lawyers). Oakland County was for a time the fourth-wealthiest county in the United States, though its position has declined somewhat since the Great Recession. The median price of a home in Oakland County increased to $164,697, more than $30,000 above the national median home value. Oakland County is home to several super-regional shopping malls such as Oakland Mall, Somerset Collection, Twelve Oaks Mall, and Great Lakes Crossing Outlets.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 907 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 868 square miles (2,250 km2) is land and 40 square miles (100 km2) (4.4%) is water.
Oakland County was originally divided into 25 separate townships, which are listed below. Each township is roughly equal in size at six miles (9.7 km) by six miles, for a total township area of 36 square miles (93 km2). The roots of this design were born out of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the subsequent Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Oakland County itself is a prime example of the land policy that was established, as all townships are equal in size (save for slight variations due to waterways). Section 16 in each township was reserved for financing and maintaining public education, and even today many schools in Oakland County townships are located within that section.