April was the month in which local elections were always held when Rochester was a village. On April 12, 1869, residents of the village voted to incorporate and govern themselves separately from the surrounding Township of Avon. They elected a village council that met monthly to conduct business, and that form of government lasted until November 1948, when voters passed a new charter converting the village to manager/council governance. In total, Rochester was governed as an incorporated village for 98 years, until opting for cityhood in 1967.
For 68 of those years, the seat of village government was this building, located on East Fourth Street at the East Alley. The building housed the village clerk and manager's offices, and the police department was located upstairs. The village of Rochester used this building until 1961, when it was razed after a new municipal center was opened at 400 Sixth Street.
Photo: This view of the Rochester Village Hall is part of the local history collection of the Rochester Hills Public Library. Today, this site is a city parking lot.
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I remember this building well. My neighbor, Mr. Sparman, worked upstairs and I took my drivers test there.
ReplyDeleteBeth Williams Ambrose