As transportation improved and the area became more accessible, the population grew, mandating incorporation and stronger government.
The initial organization of the area was done at the Quaker meetings when business could be discussed on a monthly basis.
Change began March 30, 1827 when the State Congress, under the urging of Lewis Cass, passed an act which gave people of a township the privilege of electing all township officers, with the exception of judges, clerks, and sheriffs. As Farmington Township was created April 12, 1827, as well as the townships of Oakland, Troy, Bloomfield and Pontiac, the people of Farmington were among the first to be able to elect their own officers.
In that first election the people chose Amos Mead as their Township Supervisor; Robert Wixom as Township Clerk; William Yerkes, Phillip Marlatt and Samuel Mead as assessors; Warham Lee, John Gould and John Power, Highway Commissioners; Rufus Thayer and Erastus Ingersol as Overseers of the Poor; George Collins and Robert Wixom, Pound Keepers; Postmasters were Benjamin Wixom, Samuel Mead, Samuel Maxwell and Wardwell Green; and the Fence Viewers were Samuel Mead, Samuel Mansfield, Wardwell Green and George Tibbets.
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. The area is now known as the Hisatoric District. In 1926 the Village became a fifth class city. Since then land has been annexed to the west, south, and east to increase the area and tax base.
After incorporation, the city operated under a "strong mayor" government until 1951 when the system was changed to the present city manager government in an attempt to improve the efficiency of government operations.
Within what remained of the township, Wood Creek Farms Village was incorporated in 1957, a one square mile residential area bounded by Twelve Mile Road, Middlebelt, Thirteen Mile, and Inkster Road. One year later another residential area, the Village of Quakertown, was incorporated. In 1972, the township and both villages voted to become the City of Farmington Hills. It, too, operated under a strong city manager form of government in which the city manager heads the government; the city council elects one of its members to serve as mayor. In 1994, residents of Farmington Hills voted to amend their city charter to directly elect a mayor. In 1995, Aldo Vagnozzi became the first mayor directly elected, although the city charter retains a strong city manager form of government.
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