Oakland County Historical Commission

03/12/2026

Join us tonight at the Waterford Oaks Activity Center for a planning meeting about the Oakland County Historical Society's annual summer social and America250 event, July 25-26.

This is a great opportunity to help shape this event and help your local historical organizations, along with our county, celebrate our nation's semi sesquicentennial! The meeting starts at 6:30!
Oakland History Center

Can't join in person? Join us remotely, here:
https://oakland-edu.zoom.us/j/92077921668?pwd=Vq5p66S5oLf4GhxuuBazTsI9pPNauR.1

03/04/2026

01/08/2026

It's not Jewish, but it is Michigan history! Our CEO, Catherine Cangany, PhD, is wearing her other hat in this FREE lecture on "Indigenous Oakland County," to help mark America's 250th birthday this year.

11/03/2025

11/01/2025

It's Walled Lake's 200th birthday! Come enjoy some birthday cake and learn some local history with Ruth DuFresne from the Commerce Township Area Historical Society. Ages 14-99. Registration required. 

05/14/2025

It’s across the nation and right here in Oakland County! We’re giving a shout-out to Rose Township on completing the restoration and ADA accessibility of their Historic Township Meeting Hall, and to Hess-Hathaway Historic Farm & Park in Waterford (pictured) on the restoration of their Barn, Pond, and pasture lands for the farm animals.

There are LOTS of historic preservation projects—completed, planned, and in progress—all over Oakland County. Leave a comment with your favorite below!

Image: A group of future preservationists gathered outside of the big, red Hess-Hathaway Historic Barn, holding a banner that says: “This Place Matters.” Photo courtesy of Ron Campbell, AIA, Oakland County Preservation Architect.

05/14/2025

We can't wait to celebrate.

05/07/2025

We’re giving a shout-out to the volunteers who have gathered and scanned well over 50,000 records from historic Oak Hill Cemetery in Pontiac, including a number of gravesites of people who sought freedom from slavery and settled in Oakland County.

This project has provided digital copies of records whose physical counterparts are at risk, including ledgers of burials, deed records, owner, and burial cards, and even cemetery maps which were in an endangered state.

Image: Headstones and historical marker at Oak Hill Cemetery. Potato-quality photo courtesy of our friends at Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society https://www.ocphs.org/oakhill/

05/01/2025

May is Preservation Month! There is no denying the role preservationists play in protecting historic spaces while meeting the needs of communities for the present and the future.

Want to learn more? Visit National Trust for Historic Preservation at https://savingplaces.org/stories/preservation-month-2025

This May, for Preservation Month, we’re celebrating the power of place—and the countless ways, big and small, that preservation creates. The work you do strengthens communities, breathes new life into neighborhoods, supports a healthier planet, and builds a more just and connected society.

03/04/2025

Preserving Michigan's Architectural History: Apply For MAF's Evans Graham Preservation Award by March 17.

Do you have a historic preservation project in Michigan that could benefit from grant funds to aid in its restoration? Apply today for MAF's Evans Graham Historic Preservation Grant.

The award provides financial assistance and recognition to groups or individuals seeking to preserve historic Michigan architecture.

Applications close on March 17, 2025. https://michiganarchitecturalfoundation.org/grants/evans-graham-preservation-award/

Michigan State Historic Preservation Office Michigan Historic Preservation Network

05/17/2024

03/16/2024

“Too often women have been marginalized in history and left out of the narrative, their stories untold. From 7-8 p.m. March 21, Bacak-Egbo will discuss some fascinating women whose lives are an important part of ’s past and the history of our parks during “A Governess, an Architect and a Doctor from Alabama: Stories of Amazing Women.”

Next week, Historian Carol Bacak-Egbo will present her next Fireside Chat that's perfect for .

Too often women have been marginalized in history and left out of the narrative, their stories untold. From 7-8 p.m. March 21, Bacak-Egbo will discuss some fascinating women whose lives are an important part of ’s past and the history of our parks during “A Governess, an Architect and a Doctor from Alabama: Stories of Amazing Women.”

There is no need to preregister. At the beginning of the program, just click this link: https://oakgov.zoom.us/j/96712998628. You can also join us in person at Lookout Lodge in Waterford Oaks County Park. Call or text 248-221-8040 with questions or for more information.