Farmington Community Library history

He became the first Postmaster in 1825, but left the area a few years later, leaving his postmaster duties to George Collins.

The First Presbyterian Church was founded on August 13, 1826 at the home of Amos Mead, in response to the urging of a David Ruggles of Pontiac.

The Methodists met irregularly until the summer of 1827, at which time they began holding their meetings in members’ homes.

On May 3, 1830 the Township Board established five school districts and three fractional districts with ever changing boundaries.

In 1833 a church was built on the southeast corner of Halsted Road and Eleven Mile.

The tiny cabin was soon outgrown, and in 1835 Power was authorized to spend $375 on a new facility.

The first was the old Quaker Meeting House, where Arthur Power lived after 1836.

Walker sold the Tavern to Harrison Philbrick in 1839.

After many delays, the church, 46′ x 56′, was finally finished in 1844, at a cost of $3,000. It was not until 1840, when Ebenezer Stewart donated land for a church at the southeast corner of Warner and Shiawassee, that they were able to construct a house of worship.

The road was built according to the General Plank Road Act of 1850, which specified that it be sixteen feet wide, ample shoulder on each side, and tollgates be established every five miles, charging fixed rates by vehicle type.

Construction began in 1851.

In 1853 the Universalists constructed a $900 church on Warner, between Shiawassee and Grand River.

The Steele Mill, known in the 1860’s as the Hardenburg Mill, with its better location on the Rouge, was a more successful venture.

In 1867, one square mile of land centered around Grand River and Farmington Roads, bounded by Farmington Junior High to the east and Oakwood Cemetery to the west, was incorporated as the Village of Farmington.

According to the 1870 census, Farmington had 16,514 acres of farmland valued at $1.4 million; machinery was valued at $43,900.

A new Town Hall was constructed in 1876, a two-story brick building, 30′ by 60′, built at a cost of $4,300.

The first Farmington newspaper, the Enterprise, was published on November 2, 1888, by Edgar R. Bloomer and his printer’s devil Fred Cook.

Miss Marie Gill offered dressmaking services in her millinery shop beginning in 1893.

A power plant was built by the Detroit and Northwestern Railway in 1899, and a car barn across the street.

An interurban electric railroad, known as the Detroit United Railroad, or the D.U.R., began service in 1901.

During that period, in 1908, a state law was passed which provided for the establishment of at least one library in each township and city.

In 1910, the Nelson sisters announced the opening of their ice cream shop, west of Farmington Road on Grand River, where the municipal parking lot is now.

In March 1913, the Farmington Township board asked some women of the Ladies Literary Society to start a library.

In 1919, when the war ended, Farmington added onto the Township Hall and a room for the library was created on the north side of the building.

The church burned in February, 1920; it was rebuilt two years later on a site at Warner and Grand River.

Henry Ford, who had first seen the Inn while courting future wife, Clara, in a horse and buggy, purchased the Inn from the Botsfords in 1924 and restored it.

At the corner of Nine Mile Road and Halsted, the Thayer School of Fractional District Three stood until 1929, when its students were transported to Farmington High by bus, a first in Farmington school history.

The Civic Theatre was built in 1936.

When Mary Kennedy died on April 12, 1938, the library was closed for reorganization.

Additions were made as the school population expanded, until the present Farmington High School on Shiawassee was built in 1953.

On August 16, 1954, a similar gift was left by Miss Ruth Carlisle, a former Detroit teacher and Farmington resident.

1364 on June 7, 1955, authorizing two or more municipalities to operate a library jointly, and to set up a district library board with comprehensive powers.

The township had authorized a tax levy of .3 mill for the administration of a new library district in February, 1956, which was expected to raise $10,400 yearly.

The court decided, on February 11, 1957, that the assets of the estate should be released by the city to the new Library Board.

The trustees, with the approval of the Victor Town Board, purchased the property of Norris Crane on Maple Avenue (the former depot for the Rochester and Eastern Rapid Railway). Purchase price was $7,500 and opening day was March 11, 1958.

The approval came quickly, work began, and the Farmington District Library was dedicated March 2, 1959.

In the 1960’s, in an attempt to stimulate interest in the City of Farmington area, a Federal’s Department Store was built next to the Downtown Center.

Old Farmington Branch By March, 1962, in response to the great population increase in the area and resulting increased demand on library services, the Library Board of Trustees authorized a “Need and Site” survey for library development, which was completed in May.

Another boost was given to the library building fund in June, 1965, when the Farmington Valley Saddle Club dissolved, leaving $958.86 to the library.

In April, 1966 the library joined the Wayne-Oakland Federated Library System to provide added service to Farmington patrons through access to other area libraries’ collections.

An open meeting was planned for April 29, 1970 to discuss the library model and drawings, and for the distribution of a “financial fact sheet”, detailing proposed income and expenditures, designed to answer the questions of interested community residents.

In 1971 the library expanded another 1,000 square feet.

On Sunday, June 11, 1972, the Farmington Public Library was dedicated—the $1.2 million facility opened debt-free!

The Farmington Hills Branch became the housing agent for the Oakland County Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in September, 1973, with an initial 380 handicapped patrons.

Farmington Branch Construction The land was acquired by the city in February, 1974, at a cost of $34,000; it was resold to the library board for $34,900 which included the cost of acquisition.

Polk, R.L. Farmington – Farmington hIlls City Directory, 1976.

In May 1979, two issues were placed on a special election ballot: one would have created an independent taxing authority in the Library Board and the second would have granted a tax levy of 1.5 mills for library operations.

Board of Trustees in 1980 The Library Board recognized that additional substantial renovations would be required to fully use the lower level of the Hills Branch.

In 1981 the Library Board of Directors is expanded to seven members.

In 1983, library staff linked each book in the library collection, creating an accurate inventory for the first time in over twenty years.

However, traffic at the Branch could not justify the investment of staff and materials, and the new Branch ceased operation at the end of June, 1984.

In early fall, 1985, the new Director and Staff embarked on the creation of the Library’s first Five Year Plan, as requested in a joint meeting of the City Councils.

In November 1989, two ballot issues were defeated by the voters: $14.5 million bonding for a new main Library [located on West Twelve Mile, east of the Halsted Road] and 1.5 mills for operating purposes.

A May, 1991 survey of students in the Farmington Public Schools found that 460 students identified 24 primary family languages other than English spoken in the home.

Discussions faltered in late 1992 when it became apparent that the college was unable to dedicate funding to the building of the joint library and that labor-related issues could not be resolved.

In 1993, the Farmington Community Library and six other Metro Area libraries—Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Canton, Independence Township, Rochester Hills, and Southfield— joined together to form the Metro Net Library Consortium, Inc.

The Farmington Public Schools was one of the area’s largest employers in 1994 with over 1,400 employees!

In 1995, Aldo Vagnozzi became the first mayor directly elected, although the city charter retains a strong city manager form of government.

On May 30, 1996, the Victor Free Library opened at its new location on West Main Street.

So on August 4, 1998, the Farmington Community Library asked the voters to approve an $11.7 million, 15-year millage (.6 mills) for renovation of both Branches and expansion of the Main Library.

Ruth Moehlman of the Farmington Hills Historic Commission interviews Library Director Bev Papai about the history of the Farmington Community Library. (2002)

On Tuesday, May 3, 2005 the voters overwhelmingly approved this millage, and secure funding for library operations and meeting future needs was established.

The DYNIX system would serve the Library well and faithfully until the DYNIX company was sold and acquired by a much larger firm in 2007.

Shortly thereafter she selected Gerald Furi to be the new Assistant Director—a position in which he would serve for the next 26 years until his retirement in December, 2011.

In 2014, the Victor Free Library became the Victor Farmington Library, to better represent the ever-growing community it was serving.