Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm Opens for 2015 Drop-In Tours

The Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm is open for drop-in tours starting Saturday, March 6. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Museum encompasses 16 acres of historic buildings, gardens, houses, barns, children’s garden, historic landscape, and a schoolhouse. The Lemuel Taylor family settled the area in 1823. After Lemuel’s daughter, Sarah, married Joshua Van Hoosen the farm named changed.

SchoolhouseDr. Bertha Van Hoosen, a renowned surgeon, grew up here and practiced medicine from the family home. Dr. Sarah Van Hoosen Jones bred world class Holstein cattle on the farm and travelled internationally – their home is filled with treasures from their trips. The 1848 Stoney Creek Schoolhouse is open for tours one Saturday a month. In addition to school furnishings, the schoolhouse has an interactive iPad timeline exhibit that compares the decades between 1850 and 1950.

The 1850 Red House was a tenant farmhouse and is furnished very simply representing the early settlements days in the Michigan frontier.

Dairy Barn entrance-1The Dairy Barn has permanent exhibits displaying settlement, agriculture, and suburbanization of our regional area. An orientation video, Community Hall of Fame and touch screen computers provide guests with an interactive experience. In addition, the current exhibit is The Water Powered Mills of the Greater Rochester Community. This exhibit explores the history and the importance of these early businesses in our community.

Within walking distance is the Stoney Creek Cemetery – where Soldiers, Scholars, and Pioneers from our community are buried – guests can pick up a cemetery guide at the Dairy Barn front desk.

During summer months, fishing is available in Stoney Creek – guests can check out a fishing pole and bait at the Dairy Barn front desk. A wade variety of special events and programs are offered by the Rochester Hills Museum, please visit www.rochesterhills.org/musprograms.

Admission is free for Museum members and $5 adults, $3 students and seniors. The Museum is open for drop-in tours on Fridays and Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. Group tours and use of the Museum archives are available by appointment.

The Museum is located at 1005 Van Hoosen Road, off Tienken Road between Rochester and Dequindre Roads.

For more information visit www.rochesterhills.org/museum

About Sarah Hovis

Freelance wordsmith, arts appreciator, grammar geek, sports spectator, stationery snob, and world traveler, Sarah charts her own course as the owner of saliho creative. She uses her creative mind and engaging dialogue to fearlessly bring the written word to life in print and online… all while keeping a watchful eye out for the next literary adventure. You can reach her at sarah@rochestermedia.com.

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