History of Oakland County Michigan a narrative account of its historic progress, its people, its principal interests / compiled from the official records of the county, the newspapers and data of personal interviews, under the editorial supervision of Thaddeus D. Seeley.

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HISTORY OF OAKLAND COUNTY

new reservoir by springs from the bottom. A Io-foot driveway surrounds the reservoir, perfectly graded to a 6-inch slope from the inside.
The old reservoir is 12 feet higher than the new one and consequently
does not draw from the new until 12 feet of water have been exhausted
in the old."
The village has a volunteer fire department of some twenty members, divided into two companies, under a chief. It was organized in
I896, the year after the water works were placed in commission, and is
considered an adequate auxiliary to the protection afforded by the strong
water pressure.
ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER
Rochester has an adequate and well built electric light and power
plant erected by Ambro Bettes in 1897 and 900o sold to the Detroit
United Railway. Then it became an Edison concern and in I909 the
Rochester Electric Light & Power Company, its present owners, came
into possession of it.
ROCHESTER NEWSPAPERS
The Rochester Era was established May 22, 1873, by T. B. Fox, who
conducted it until his death in I893, and its editor and proprietor has
since been his son, W. A. Fox. It is a weekly and independent.
The next Rochester paper was the Star, which began to shine May
19, 1876, under the manipulation of Van Burget & Macoy. It has been
a "back number" these many years.
The Clarion (weekly), the second existing newspaper to publish
the good points of the locality and the county, issued its first number
August 19, I898. Charles S. Seed is its present editor and proprietor.
The Clarion is also independent.
THE CHURCHES
The Congregational church, of which Rev. A. G. Gates is pastor, was
organized on the Ist of July, 1827, and is therefore the veteran religious
society of Rochester. Rev. Isaac W. Ruggles, of Pontiac, was most
instrumental, among the clergy, in forming the new society, and perhaps the most prominent laymen were William Abbott and William
Burbank who were chosen its first elders. The first services were held
in a little log cabin on the Burroughs farm, but were continued "from
house to house," until the erection of a church building about 1839.
Rev. Luther Shaw and Rev. A. S. Wells were the first.settled pastors.
During the eighty-five years of its history, the society has had some
forty-five pastors. The church edifice now in use was dedicated in
1854, during the pastorate of Rev. S. N. Hill.
The First Baptist church at Rochester was formed in the Stony
Creek Baptist church edifice on June I, 1854, and the following trustees
were elected: L. W. Cole, L. G. Tanner, N.oJ. Millerd, Lemuel Taylor
and Charles Copeland. At the annual meeting, January I, I855, trus