Patrick McKay presented our program on the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm. Polio is such a large part of our history as Rotarians and also a part of Van Hoosen Farm. The building of the Mackinaw Bridge was delayed in order to divert steal to Rochester Hills to complete the building necessary to produce the Polio Vaccine.
The museum has been around for 42 years complete with historical buildings that collectively tell the story of the VanHoosen family. The museum works hard to maintain the structures on the farm and give back to the community in the process. The equipment barn was rebuilt from the ground up to replicate the original barn down to the exact height.
The museum gives back to the community in a myriad of ways. They have digitized all newspapers from 1872-1999, the Historic Quilt Society quilts replicas of historic quilts on display throughout the museum, and the Children's Garden Club on sight is the highest attended Garden club in the state. The renovations around the museum have made it possible to open the bull barn and milk house to the public. Van Hoosen Farm was the largest producer of milk in the Metro Detroit area.
The museum is also excited to now host Mastodon Bones found on the property as well as new representation of the Native American history experienced on the land.
The museum has many books for sale that tell amazing stories that have created the rich history of our community.
We are still on the look for a forever meeting home.
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