The Grahams were elated to discover not only hills and oaks, but three fast-flowing streams: Paint Creek, Stoney Creek and the Clinton River, for plenty of power. They located their first temporary home near today’s Rochester Municipal Building in the community park. Soon they moved to what is known as neighboring subdivisions, Ravines I and II. The fast-flowing Clinton was at their back door.
A few Indians lived in the area when the Grahams arrived, and their presence could be detected by the Indian burial ground near the present administrative offices at Rochester College, one of several sacred Indian sites in the area.
It is almost certain that the valley, with its many springs, was fertile ground for trees of all ages. The early Indians probably hunted in the hollow. The earliest recorded deeds of the SE ¼ of Section 16 (the square mile bounded by Livernois, Walton, Old Perch and Avon) shows that J. Kearsley owned the entire quarter section bought from the State of Michigan in 1847. Avon Township’s thirty-six square mile was platted by the new State of Michigan (chartered 1837). With the exception of a few acres in two separate locations, the SE ¼ of Section 16 was moved intact over a period of 100 years from J. Kearsley to Ed Patch (1853) to J. Matteson (1871) to J. Toles (1892) to Albert Ostrom (1903). Albert died in 1904 and his wife Lavisa sold to Jerome and Laura Chiffin in 1906. The land changed hands many times in the next few years: to C. Kiley (1907), to H. Taylor (1910), to N. Rorabach (1911), to Luis and Angelina Spezia and V. Merlo (1914), and V. Merlo to Luis Spezia by quit claim (1921), to Orion State Bank (1925), to Angelina Spezia (1926), to J. McKirchey (1928) who agreed to pay Angelina’s debt of $5,000 – probably owed to the Orion State Bank.
While 15 different owners held title to the Avon Hollow land, the area remained undisturbed. Homeowners on the north boundary of the neighborhood can still find old barbed wire from the bordering Patterson’s Farm, now Rochdale.
In 1954, J. McKirchey’s will left the land to a batch of relatives – several Keatings and a Brady. This group then sold their newly acquired land, in 1955, to a new corporation called KAEBRAE. Kaebrae was owned by C. Allen Brady and his wife Marie, and Jo and Allen Bachman, all of Birmingham. Avon Heights subdivision (often referred to as Kingsview) was platted by the Kaebrae Corporation, which sold its lots to individuals, not builders. The unplatted area of Avon Hollow (as yet unnamed) remained part of Kaebrae. Whatever happened to the grand plan by Kaebrae for the hollow is unknown, although it was probably intended to eventually be developed.
However, in 1968 Kaebrae sold the Avon Hollow land to F. James McDonald of GM fame. McDonald, of Bloomfield Hills, held this parcel for ten years, selling it to Trinity Land Corporation (Carlo Catenacci, president; Salvatore Cattone, treasurer). On November 7, 1978 at 8:30 am, Trinity filed the official plat plan naming this area AVON HOLLOW.
Many early residents in Avon Heights recall the removal of many of the oaks from the hollow. Kingsview Road opened and connected to the new Springwood Lane. The changes then came rapidly. Streets were platted and paved, utilities installed. Once secluded toboggan hills became individual lots.
The first model homes in Avon Hollow were constructed on Deerfield Court and a wave of new home building followed. But an economic recession shortly thereafter delayed completion of the subdivision, until a second wave of building took place in the mid-1980s. By 1989, nearly all 70 lots had homes on them.
At the same time, the Avon Hollow board of directors was looking into ways to make Springwood safer. A committee of concerned homeowners made suggestions to the Rochester Hills City Council, including closing Springwood to through traffic. Although that recommendation was rejected by the city, it did result in the placement of stop signs along the street. With additional traffic enforcement by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, Springwood has become a safer place for walking and bike riding.
The subdivision board also undertook a large enhancement project when decorative street lights and signs were installed in the mid-1990s. Sebastian Coppola, board president at the time, and many others spent countless hours overseeing this beautification effort, the results of which we enjoy today.
The board also purchased a new entrance sign and annually arranges for regular entrance and median landscaping and maintenance, as well as special holiday lighting.
Avon Hollow, with its diverse architecture, beautiful oaks, neighborhood schools, and proximity to downtown Rochester, is a great neighborhood to call home.
With credit and thanks to former Avon Hollow residents
Barbara Finch and Mary Herzog