Founders Day Celebration 2026

The Rochester Historical Commission will celebrate Founder's Day that commemorates the arrival of James Graham with his sons on March 17, 1817, to the area now known as Rochester, Michigan. They were pioneer settlers who established Rochester as the first European settlement in Oakland County.

To celebrate, you are invited to attend a presentation on Oakland County Veterans presented by Carol Egbo, Oakland County’s Historian. The event will start with an Irish Bagpiper greeting you, followed by the presentation, and ends with entertainment from Irish Dancers. Light refreshments provided. This event is held at 1005 Van Hoosen Road, Rochester Hills, MI, 48306, in the renovated Calf Barn and Dairy Barn.

Over 40 Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in Oakland County cemeteries including four in Rochester's Mt. Avon Cemetery. What brought them to Oakland County near the end of their lives? Where did they settle? What impact did they have?

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Host or Publisher Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm