History of Rochester, New York - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article documents the history of Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

, part of present day New York State.

Early settlement

Following the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, western New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

was opened up for development as soon as New York and Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

compromised and settled their competing claims for the area in December 1786 by the Treaty of Hartford

Treaty of Hartford

The term Treaty of Hartford applies to three historic agreements negotiated at Hartford, Connecticut. The 1638 treaty divided the spoils of the Pequot War. The 1650 treaty defined a border between the Dutch Nieuw Amsterdam and English settlers in Connecticut...

. The compromise was that, while New York would have political sovereignty over the land, Massachusetts would have pre-emptive rights to obtain title from the Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

and own (and profit from selling) the land.

On April 1, 1788, after extensive machinations by various speculators, Massachusetts' pre-emptive right over all western New York Lands — comprising some 6,000,000 acres (24,000 km²) — was sold to Oliver Phelps

Oliver Phelps

Oliver Phelps was born in Poquonock, Connecticut and moved to Suffield, Connecticut, where he apprenticed to a local merchant. He shortly thereafter became a tavern keeper in Granville, Massachusetts. During the Revolution he was Deputy Commissary of the Continental Army and served until the end...

and Nathaniel Gorham

Nathaniel Gorham

Nathaniel Gorham was the fourteenth President of the United States in Congress assembled, under the Articles of Confederation...

, both of Massachusetts. The sales price was $1,000,000, payable in three equal annual installments of certain Massachusetts securities then worth about 20 cents on the dollar. The right sold applied to all land west of a line running from the mouth of Sodus Bay

Sodus, New York

Sodus, New York may refer to:*Sodus , New York in Wayne County*Sodus , New York in Wayne County...

on Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

, due south through Seneca Lake, to the 82nd milestone on the Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

border near Big Flats

Big Flats, New York

Big Flats, New York may refer to:* Big Flats , New York in Chemung County* Big Flats , New York, a Census-Designated Place within the Town of Big Flats...

(the "Pre-emption Line"), and all the way to the Niagara River

Niagara River

The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...

and Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

(the "Phelps and Gorham Purchase

Phelps and Gorham Purchase

The Phelps and Gorham Purchase was the purchase in 1788 of the pre-emptive right to some 6,000,000 acres of land in western New York State for $1,000,000 . This was all land in western New York west of Seneca Lake between Lake Ontario and the Pennsylvania border...

"). In order to obtain title to such land, Phelps and Gorham would have to extinguish all Native American

Native Americans in the United States

titles. Due to a failure to extinguish the Native American titles as well as a default in the 1790 payment, the pre-emptive rights to remaining lands of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase west of the Genesee River, comprising some 3,750,000 acres (15,000 km²), reverted back to Massachusetts. The state then re-sold those rights to Robert Morris

Robert Morris (merchant)

Robert Morris, Jr. was a British-born American merchant, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution...

in 1791 for $333,333.33. In 1792 and 1793, Morris then sold most of the lands west of the Genesee to the Holland Land Company

Holland Land Company

The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...

, but he did not extinguish Native American title to the land until the Treaty of Big Tree

Treaty of Big Tree

Treaty of Big Tree was a formal treaty, held from August 20, 1797 until September 16, 1797, between the Seneca nation and the United States of America. The delegates for both parties met at the residence of William Wadsworth, an early pioneer of the area and Captain of the local militia, in what is...

in September, 1797. Morris reserved for himself a 500,000 acre (2,000 km²) strip approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) wide and extending from Lake Ontario to the Pennsylvania border along the eastern edge of the Holland Purchase

Holland Purchase

The Holland Purchase was a large tract of land in what is now the western portion of the U.S. state of New York. It consisted of about 3,250,000 acres of land from a line approximately 12 miles to the west of the Genesee River to the present western border and boundary of New York State.The land...

, known as the Morris Reserve

Morris Reserve

The Morris Reserve was a 500,000 acre tract of land owned by Robert Morris in western New York in the late 18th Century. It was originally part of the 6,000,000 acre purchase in April 1788 of the pre-emptive right to all of Massachusetts' lands in western New York by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel...

. At the north end of the Reserve, an 87,000 acre (350 km²) triangular shaped tract ("The Triangle Tract

The Triangle Tract

The Triangle Tract was 87,000 acre parcel of land abutting the Mill Yard Tract portion of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase in western New York State in the USA...

") was sold by Morris to Herman Leroy, William Bayard and John McEvers, while a 100,000 tract due west of the Triangle Tract was sold to the state of Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. Additional Phelps and Gorham lands east of the Genesee River

Genesee River

The Genesee River is a North American river flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides hydroelectric power for downtown Rochester....

which had not previously been sold were acquired by Robert Morris in 1791, who re-sold them to The Pulteney Association

The Pulteney Association

The Pulteney Association was a purchaser in 1792 of a large portion of the Western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The Pulteney Associates were British investors: nine-twelfths was owned by Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet , a Scottish lawyer; two-twelfths by William...

, a syndicate of British investors.

Shortly after concluding the purchase, Phelps and Gorham gave a 100 acre (0.4 km²) lot within the Mill Yard Tract at the Upper Falls of the Genesee to Ebenezer "Indian" Allen, on condition he build a grist mill and sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

there by summer 1789 (the "100 Acre Tract"). In exchange for the 100 acre (0.404686 km²) Tract, Allen built the agreed-upon mills at the west end of the Upper Falls of the Genesee. But the location was so deep in the wilderness that there were only 14 men in the area to assist in the mill's construction. The area was a dense forest and swamp, and infested with rattlesnake

Rattlesnake

Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...

s and mosquito

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...

es that spread 'Swamp Fever' or what we now call malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

.

In March 1792, with no settlers and no demand for mills, Indian Allen sold the 100 acre (0.404686 km²) Tract to Benjamin Barton, Sr. of New Jersey for $1,250. Barton almost immediately resold the property to Samuel Ogden, an agent for Robert Morris. Ogden, in turn, sold the property in 1794 to Charles Williamson, agent for The Pulteney Association

The Pulteney Association

. On November 8, 1803, The Pulteney Association sold the 100 acre (0.404686 km²) Tract for $1,750, on a five-year land contract, to Col. Nathaniel Rochester

Nathaniel Rochester

Nathaniel Rochester was an American Revolutionary War soldier and land speculator, most noted for founding the settlement which would become Rochester, New York.-Early years:...

(1752–1831), Maj. Charles Carroll, and Col. William Fitzhugh, all of Hagerstown, Maryland

Hagerstown, Maryland

Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...

Rochesterville and The Flour City

Col. Rochester and his two partners allowed the millsite to lie undeveloped until 1811, when they finally completed paying for their purchase and received the deed. The population of the area was 15. They then had the tract surveyed and laid out with streets and lots. The first lot was sold to a Henry Skinner, at what is now the northwest corner of State and Main. In 1817, other land owners, mainly the Brown Brothers (of Brown's Race and Brown's Square), joined their lands north to the 100 acre (0.404686 km²) Tract, to form the Village of Rochesterville, with a population of 700.

In 1821, Monroe County

Monroe County, New York

Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....

was formed out of parts of Ontario

Ontario County, New York

As of the census of 2000, there were 100,224 people, 38,370 households, and 26,360 families residing in the county. The population density was 156 people per square mile . There were 42,647 housing units at an average density of 66 per square mile...

and Genesee

Genesee County, New York

Genesee County is a county located in Western New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 60,079. Its name is from the Seneca Indian word Gen-nis'-hee-yo meaning "The Beautiful Valley." Its county seat is Batavia.- History :...

counties, and Rochesterville was named the county seat. A two story brick courthouse

Courthouse

A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...

in the Greek Revival style was built at a cost of $7,600. In 1823, property of Elisha Johnson on the east side of the Genesee across from the 100 acre (0.404686 km²) Tract was annexed, bringing Rochesterville to 1,012 acres (4.1 km²) and the population to about 2,500. That year, "-ville" was dropped from the city's name. This was also the year that the first 800 foot (244 m) Erie Canal

Erie Canal

The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

was finished over the Genesee, just south of the Main Street Bridge. It was built over 16 months by 30 convicts from Auburn State Prison. In 1822, the Rochester Female Charitable Society was founded. Members paid twenty-five cents per year to belong to the Society and also contributed provisions, clothing, and bedding which they collected from the community. Visitors distributed the goods and money to the poor of each district. By 1872, seventy-three districts had been established, each with a woman visitor. That organization was be instrumental in founding the Rochester Orphan Asylum (now Hillside Children's Center), the Rochester City Hospital (now Rochester General Hospital), the first school, the workhouse, the Home for the Friendless (now The Friendly Home), the Industrial School, and The Visiting Nurse Service.

Soon after the Erie Canal east to the Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

was opened in 1823, the economy and population grew quickly. By 1830, the population reached 9,200, and the city became the original boomtown first known as "The Young Lion of the West." It quickly, however, became known as the Flour

Flour

Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...

City, based on the numerous flour mills which were located along waterfalls on the Genesee in what is now the Brown's Race area of downtown Rochester. The first ten days the canal was open east to the Hudson, 40,000 barrels (3,600 tons) of Rochester flour were shipped to Albany

Albany, New York

Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...

and New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Local millers soon were grinding 25,000 bushels of wheat daily. In 1829, the Rochester Athenaeum was founded as a reading society. The Athenaeum charged members a five-dollar annual fee to hear lectures by some of America's best-known orators including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...

, Horace Greeley

Horace Greeley

Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...

and Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...

. The Athenaeum was one of the forerunners of the Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester Institute of Technology

The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...

.

By 1834, some 20 flour mills were producing 500,000 barrels (44,000 t) annually, the population reached 13,500 and the city area expanded to 4,000 acres (16 km²). Rochester was then re-chartered as a city, and Jonathan Child, son-in-law of Col. Rochester, was elected its first mayor.

In 1837, the Rochester Orphan Asylum was founded by the Rochester Female Charitable Society. The Asylum was located on South Sophia Street (now South Plymouth Avenue) and later moved to Hubbell Park. After a tragic fire on January 8, 1901, the Asylum was moved to Pinnacle Hill, reconstructed as a series of cottages called the Hillside Home (now Hillside Children's Center, part of Hillside Family of Agencies

Hillside Family of Agencies

Hillside Family of Agencies is one of the oldest family and youth non-profit human services organizations in Western and Central New York, USA. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, the organization works with youth and families facing a wide range of behavioral and emotional challenges...

). The Charitable Society also founded Rochester City Hospital on Buffalo Street (now West Main Street), where the old Buffalo Street Cemetery was located. Construction on the hospital began in 1845 but it was not occupied until 1863. By 1838 Rochester was the largest flour-producing city in the world.

The Flower City

In 1830, William A. Reynolds started his first seed

Seed

A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

business at the corner of Sophia and Buffalo Streets (now Plymouth Avenue South and Main Street West). This was the start of what would become the Ellwanger & Barry Nursery

Nursery (horticulture)

A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. They include retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to businesses such as other nurseries and to commercial gardeners, and private nurseries which supply the needs of...

Co., which eventually was relocated to Mt. Hope Avenue, across from Mount Hope Cemetery

Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester

Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York, founded in 1838, is the United States' first municipal rural cemetery. Situated on 196 acres of land adjacent to the University of Rochester on Mount Hope Avenue, the cemetery is the permanent resting place of over 350,000 people...

. James Vick and Joseph Harris also start their own nursery businesses. The population in 1830 was only 9,207, but it still ranked as the 25th largest city in the United States. In 1840, the population and rank were 20,191 and 19th, respectively. In 1842, the original aqueduct over the Genesee River was replaced with a better one slightly south of the first one. This latter aqueduct now supports Broad Street.

By 1850, the population reached 36,003, making Rochester the 21st largest city in the United States. Westward expansion had moved the focus of farming to the Great Plains and Rochester's importance as the center for flour milling had declined. Several seed companies in Rochester had grown to become the largest in the world, with Ellwanger & Barry Nursery Co. the largest. Rochester's nickname was changed from the Flour City to the Flower City. In 1850, the University of Rochester

University of Rochester

The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...

was founded in the U. S. Hotel on Buffalo St, and affiliated with the Baptist Church. Two four-year courses were offered. In 1851, due to Rochester and Monroe County's tremendous growth, a new three-story county courthouse in the Greek Revival style was constructed. It was built from brick manufactured at Cobb's Hill by Gideon Cobb, and cost $76,000.

Abolitionists and the Civil War

In 1857, Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony

Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...

and William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison

William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...

spoke at an abolition

Abolitionism

Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...

meeting. In 1847 Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...

, a former slave

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

who became an abolitionist leader, commenced publishing a newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

"The North Star

North Star (newspaper)

The North Star was an anti-slavery newspaper. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass published the North Star until June 1851, when Douglass and Gerrit Smith agreed to merge the North Star with the Liberty Party Paper to form Frederick Douglass's Paper...

" in Rochester. Douglass delivered his fiery speech "The Meaning of July Fourth to the Negro"http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/douglassjuly4.html before the Rochester Ladies Antislavery Association at Corinthian Hall, Rochester, on July 5, 1852.

In the years leading up to the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, numerous locations in the Rochester area were used as safe-houses to shelter fugitive slaves before they were placed on board boats (often on the Genesee River) for transport to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The route was part of the famous Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

. The most common route used the 'lines' that led from Henrietta through Monroe County and into Rochester. Some of the better known 'stations' included: the Henry Quinby farm by Mendon Ponds Park, which today is by the Fieldstone Smokehouse; the David H. Richardson farm on East Henrietta Road near Castle Road; the Warrant farm in Brighton, 1956 West Henrietta Road; the old Frederick Douglass home on South Avenue near the current Highland Park; a cluster of houses along Exchange Street where numerous Quaker

Religious Society of Friends

The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...

s lived, and now where the Blue Cross Arena sits, and the home of Harvey Humphrey on Genesee Street. One contemporary described the Frederick Douglass homes as "a labyrinth of secret panels and closets, where he secreted the poor human wretches from the man hunters and the blood-hounds, who were usually not far behind.”,Rochester History, Vol LXVII, No. 4 (Fall 2005), pg. 3, citing Howard W. Coles, "Frederick Douglass Story (picture story)," typescript, p. 2. Howard W. Coles Collection, Rochester Museum & Science Center.

Other 'stations' were located in the areas surrounding Rochester, including Brighton, Pittsford, Mendon and Webster. A station in North Chili, just west of Rochester, run by abolitionist Methodists

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

was an important site in the formation of the Free Methodist Church

Free Methodist Church

The Free Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement. It is evangelical in nature and has its roots in the Arminian-Wesleyan tradition....

, which was formed in 1860. The denomination's first college, Roberts Wesleyan College

Roberts Wesleyan College

Roberts Wesleyan College is a Christian liberal arts college located in North Chili, New York. It is the first educational institution established for Free Methodists in North America...

, was built on the site.

Post-war industrial boom

The period 1860 to 1900 saw Rochester grow from a city of 48,000 to a city of 162,800, with a 1900 rank of 24th largest in population, down from 18th in 1860. During this period the city expanded dramatically in area on both sides of the Genesee River, as well as annexing parts of the towns of Brighton, Gates, Greece and Irondequoit. Also founded during this period were Bausch & Lomb

Bausch & Lomb

Bausch & Lomb, an American company based in Rochester, New York, is one of the world's leading suppliers of eye health products, such as contact lenses and lens care products today. In addition to this main activity, in recent years the area of medical technology has been developed...

by John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb, Eastman Kodak

Eastman Kodak

Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....

by George Eastman

George Eastman

George Eastman was an American innovator and entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and invented roll film, helping to bring photography to the mainstream...

, Western Union

Western Union

The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...

Telegraph by Hiram Sibley

Hiram Sibley

Hiram Sibley , was an industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.Sibley was born in North Adams, Massachusetts, and later resided in Rochester, New York. He became interested in the work of Samuel Morse involving the telegraph.In 1840, he joined with Morse and Ezra Cornell to create a...

and Don Alonzo Watson

Don Alonzo Watson

Don Alonzo Watson was a Rochester, New York businessman and philanthropist who, with Hiram Sibley helped found Western Union. Watson purchased a building for Rochester Homeopathic Hospital which became Genesee Hospital in Rochester...

, Gleason Works by William Gleason, and R.T. French Company by Robert French. Other important industries

Industry

Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...

that developed during this period were clothing

Clothing

Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...

manufacturing

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

, shoe

Shoe

A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...

manufacturing, brewing

Brewing

Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...

and machine

Machine

A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...

tool

Tool

A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...

s. In 1875, Rochester's first city hall opened at Fitzhugh and the Erie Canal (now Broad Street). It was built at a cost of over $335,000 on the site of the First Presbyterian

Presbyterianism

Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...

Church, which had burned to the ground in 1869. The church sold the lot to the city for $25,000. This city hall housed city government until 1978.

In 1882, the tolls on the Erie Canal ended, with New York State enjoying a profit of $51,000,000 over the 57 years. In September 1885, a group of Rochester businessmen founded the Mechanics Institute to establish "free evening schools in the city for instruction in drawing and such other branches of studies as are most important for industrial pursuits of great advantage to our people." Henry Lomb of Bausch & Lomb was the Mechanics Institute's first president.

During this period many of Rochester's great public parks were laid out, with Ellwanger & Barry and others donating land in 1871 for Maplewood Park and in 1889 for Highland Park. In 1895, George Eastman and James P. B. Duffy donated an additional 120 acres (0.5 km²) for Highland Park. On Independence Day, 1894, community leaders, responding to the continued tremendous growth in Rochester and Monroe County, laid the cornerstone for the third County Courthouse (now the County Office Building). Two years and $881,000 later, the four-story granite and marble courthouse in the Italian Renaissance style was complete. In 1897, the first master's degrees were awarded by the University of Rochester and in 1900, due largely to the efforts of Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony

, women were admitted.

In 1891, the Mechanics Institute merged with the Rochester Athenaeum to form the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (RAMI). Comprehensive instruction in mechanical subjects was RAMI's hallmark. The Institute's builders responded to both industrial and societal trends in Rochester, and each year the Institute graduated increasing numbers of expertly trained professionals who found work in industry both in Rochester and elsewhere.

In addition, Rochester was home of the Cunningham automobile

Cunningham automobile

The Cunningham automobile has its roots in a firm named the James Cunningham, Son & Company of Rochester, N.Y. Incorporated in 1882, it was taken over after James' death in 1886 by his son, Joseph. Production was now focused on fine carriages...

, a pioneering vehicle produced by carriage

Carriage

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...

maker James Cunningham, Son and Company http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/c/cunningham/cunningham.htm http://www.s363.com/cunningham/. Like many early companies, production was small, only about 400 units a year, including hearse

Hearse

A hearse is a funerary vehicle used to carry a coffin from a church or funeral home to a cemetery. In the funeral trade, hearses are often called funeral coaches.-History:...

s, all designed by Volney Lacey.

Rochester in the 20th century

The turn of the century found Rochester a thriving and comfortable city. Although the nursery business was waning, some of that land had been converted into desirable residential districts along East Avenue, Park Avenue, and off Mount Hope Avenue near Highland Park. In 1901, a devastating fire killed 31 at the Rochester Orphan Asylum, and it moved across town from Hubbell Park to Pinnacle.

Because of the highly skilled labor force Rochester enjoyed, the city became a significant industrial contributor to the World War II effort, while the farms and fields surrounding Rochester provided food for the troops as well as the home front. To recognize specialized professional nature of its programs, in 1944, the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute changed its name to The Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester Institute of Technology

The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...

.

In 1904, R. T. French sent prepared mustard to the St. Louis World's Fair, where it was paired with another innovation — the hot dog

Hot dog

A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...

— and became a hit.

In the early 1900s, both George Eastman and Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...

gave substantial sums to the University of Rochester. Eastman also donated the funds to establish the Eastman Dental Dispensary

Eastman Dental Dispensary

The Eastman Dental Dispensary was built in 1917. Prior to that time local benefactors provided funds for the indigent children of Rochester to receive free dental services in several city locations. George Eastman provided the funds to build a free dispensary in Rochester. In 1978, the entity now...

. In 1908, Francis Baker donated 120 acres (0.5 km²) for Genesee Valley Park, and Durand-Eastman Park opens, a gift of Henry Durand and George Eastman.

In 1913, the Memorial Art Gallery on the University of Rochester's Prince Street Campus was founded. It was the gift of Emily Sibley Watson as a memorial to her son, architect James Averell. In 1918, the Erie Canal through Rochester was closed and abandoned after the Barge Canal opened, transiting Rochester through Genesee Valley Park

Genesee Valley Park

Genesee Valley Park is located in the south side of Rochester, New York along the shores of the Genesee River. The New York State Barge Canal crosses the Genesee River within the park...

. The Court Street Dam was also built in 1918 to raise the level of the river to that of the Barge Canal so no aqueduct or locks are necessary, but in so doing the Upper Falls and the Castelton Rapids were obliterated.

By 1920, Rochester's population had reached 290,720, and it ranked 23rd largest in the United States. That year, the city purchased the abandoned Erie Canal lands inside city limits for use as a heavy rail mass transit and freight system. In 1921, the first Lilac Week occurred, celebrating Rochester's floral legacy in Highland Park. In 1922, Rochester's first radio station began broadcasting, and the Eastman Theatre opened, an adjunct to the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. In 1925, George Eastman arranged a land swap with Oak Hill Country Club

Oak Hill Country Club

Oak Hill Country Club, located in the Town of Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester, has a rich history of golf. It started out in 1901 as only 9 holes on 85 acres on the banks of the Genesee River in Rochester. The clubhouse was no more than a converted farm house...

. The Oak Hill property, just west of Mt. Hope Cemetery on the east side of the Genesee River was given to the University of Rochester for its River Campus, and the country club moved to its present site in Pittsford. In 1925, the University opened its Medical School and Strong Memorial Hospital on Crittenden Road, and by 1927, general construction had begun on the River Campus. It was also in 1925 that the University awarded its first Ph.D., and by 1930, several departments were training candidates for the doctorate. In 1928, Red Wing Stadium opened. That year, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Democrat and Chronicle
The Democrat and Chronicle is the most widely circulated daily newspaper in the greater Rochester, New York area. Located at 55 Exchange Boulevard in downtown Rochester, the Democrat and Chronicle operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production facility is located in the town of...

, the morning newspaper, was purchased by Frank Gannett

Frank Gannett

Frank Ernest Gannett is the founder of Gannett media corporation.-Biography:Gannett was born in South Bristol, New York, United States, graduated from Bolivar High School , Bolivar, NY in 1893, and graduated from Cornell University. At the age of 30, he purchased his first newspaper, the Elmira...

.

By 1930, the population had swelled to 328,132, making Rochester the 22nd largest city in the United States. The University of Rochester opened its River Campus for men, and the Prince Street Campus became the Women's Campus. The Rochester Municipal Airport opened on Scottsville Road. It was in the 1930s that Eastman Kodak introduced Kodrachrome film. By now the subway was constructed in the old canal bed, and the street railways were diverted to the subway or morphed into buses. Rochester celebrated its centennial as a city in 1934. In 1936, the Rundel Memorial Building opened as the headquarters of the Rochester Public Library above the bed of the old Erie Canal, adjacent to South Avenue, between Broad Street and Court Street.

By 1940, the population had decreased to 324,975, the first drop since Rochester was founded. It was still the 23rd largest city in the United States. With the advent of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, some 29,000 Rochester-area men were drafted into military service.

During the war, Cobbs Hill Park was used as a Prisoner of War camp. The first POWs arrived September 28, 1943. Sixty Italian prisoners worked on area farms and food processing plants 10 hours a day, six days a week, at $0.80 per day. After Italy capitulated to the Allies October 12, 1943, and joined the war against Germany the Italian POW's became unguarded internees. The Italians were replaced at Cobbs Hill with German POWS June 26, 1944. The city was hit in February 1945 with seven successive snowstorms that paralyzed the city, forcing the city to ask that POWs be brought from the Hamlin Camp to the city. Cobbs Hill Park housed 100 Germans, while 175 more were at Edgerton Park. Snow removal by prisoners was done at unannounced locations, with city police guarding the POWs.

Following the war, the "Rochester Plan" called for the development of quality, low rent housing for veterans returning from World War II

World War II

and their families. Three garden apartment

Apartment

An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...

complexes were built as part of the Rochester Plan: Fernwood Park

Fernwood Park Historic District

Fernwood Park Historic District is a national historic district located in the northeast quadrant of Rochester in Monroe County, New York. The district consists of 40 contributing buildings and one contributing site...

, Norton Village

Norton Village Historic District

Norton Village Historic District is a national historic district located in the northeast quadrant of Rochester in Monroe County, New York. The district consists of 144 contributing buildings. The garden apartment complex was originally built in 1949 as part of the Rochester Plan to provide...

, and Ramona Park

Ramona Park Historic District

Ramona Park Historic District is a national historic district located in the northeast quadrant of Rochester in Monroe County, New York. The district consists of 40 contributing buildings. The garden apartment complex was originally built in 1947 as part of the Rochester Plan to provide quality,...

1950 to 1990s

By 1950, the population of the city had grown slightly to 332,488, but Rochester was now only the 32nd largest city in the United States. During the 1950s, Xerox Corporation (originally Haloid Corporation) expanded as it exploited Chester Carlson's xerography

Xerography

Xerography is a dry photocopying technique invented by Chester Carlson in 1938, for which he was awarded on October 6, 1942. Carlson originally called his invention electrophotography...

patents. Xerox went on to become the world leader in xerographic imaging, designing and manufacturing many of its famous products in the Rochester area. Eastman Kodak continued to dominate the film and camera industry and was Rochester's leading industrial employer, but other Rochester companies also employed many technical and manufacturing personnel, including Gleason Works, Stromberg-Carlson, Taylor Instrument, Ritter Dental Equipment, Rochester Products Division

Rochester Products Division

Rochester Products Division was a division of General Motors that manufactured carburetors, and related components including emissions control devices and cruise control systems in Rochester, New York...

of General Motors, and Pfaudler-Permutit. In 1955, the Colleges for Men and Women of the University of Rochester were merged. In 1958, three new schools were created in engineering, business administration, and education. Smugtown USA by G. Curtis Gerling (Plaza Publishers 1957, reprinted 1993) is a scathing critique of the city's 1940s and 1950s culture.

By the 1960s, as with the rest of the United States, the population was shifting from city to suburb, with substantial growth in the towns immediately adjacent to the city, including Greece, Gates, Chili, Henrietta, Brighton and Irondequoit.

The 1960 census showed a population drop to 318,611 and a drop in rank to 38th. The Rochester 1964 race riot

Rochester 1964 race riot

The Rochester 1964 riot was a riot that occurred in 1964 in Rochester, New York, in the United States. In the early evening of Friday, July 24, 1964, the Rochester Police Department attempted to arrest a 19 year-old intoxicated black male at a street block party and dance...

took place in July of that year and marked the beginning of riots throughout the United States during the civil rights period. The disturbance broke out in Rochester's predominantly African-American districts on 24 July 1964. Peace was restored after 3 days, but only after the National Guard was called out. This was the first such use of the Guard in a northern city. Although the riot was blamed on "outside agitators", all the rioters arrested were from the Rochester area. This led to a reappraisal of old-time policies and practices which had not changed in face of a tripling of the African-American population in 10 years, who were still mostly assigned to low-pay and low-skill jobs and lived in sub-standard housing.Because of the riots the city soon saw its first African American Public safety director,several African American police officers were hired. City leaders convinced local radio stations to seek African American announcers. WHAM hired Vic Mason and later Lou Paris, but the real change in black relations came when FM WCMF brought in Herb Hamlett who aired a morning R&B show six days a week. Hamlett became the voice of Rochester's black community, and was the most powerful voice in the city.

It was also in the 1960s that the city began a process of urban renewal, with the construction of Midtown Plaza, the first indoor shopping mall

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

in a traditional downtown area in the United States. In the middle of that decade, when the New York State Department of Public Works decided it would build the Inner Loop expressway through the downtown Rochester Institute of Technology campus, the decision was made to build a new campus in the suburbs. The move to a more spacious location was critical to RIT's 1966 selection as the site for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

The National Technical Institute for the Deaf is the first and largest technological college in the world for students who are deaf or hard of hearing...

, and the 1,300 acre (5.3 km²) campus in suburban Henrietta

Henrietta, New York

Henrietta is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of Rochester. The population was 42,581 at the 2010 census. Established in 1818, the town is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, Countess of Bath, daughter of Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, a major British...

opened in 1968.

In the 60s and 70s, Rochester became known as the leading jazz town in upstate New York. Famous jazz musicians would come to Clarissa Street and play all night long moving from club to club. The Pythodd Room (Stanley and Delores Thomas) was one example of a top Clarissa Street "joint" that hosted jam session including everyone from Little Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...

to Jimmy Smith and the Mangione brothers (Chuck

Chuck Mangione

Charles Frank "Chuck" Mangione is an American flugelhorn player and composer who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-pop single, "Feels So Good." Mangione has released more than thirty albums since 1960.-Early life and career:...

and Gap

Gap Mangione

Gaspare "Gap" Mangione is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader from Rochester, New York, United States.Born and raised in Rochester, Mangione's younger brother is Grammy-winning flugelhornist Chuck Mangione. Members of a music-loving family, both Gap and Chuck took up instruments...

). The Mangiones grew up in Rochester, and Chuck went on to become one of the biggest "cross-over" trumpeters in jazz history, with his records regularly being played on jazz, smooth jazz, and easy listening stations.

As part of continuing urban renewal, in 1969 Xerox

Xerox

Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...

Corporation opened a thirty-story office tower (Xerox Tower

Xerox Tower

Xerox Tower is a skyscraper in downtown Rochester, New York standing at tall. When it was built in 1967, it was the tallest building made of poured-in-place exposed aggregate concrete. It is the tallest building in Rochester, as well as the third tallest building in New York outside of New York...

) at Broad Street East and Clinton Avenue South, although Xerox also moved its corporate headquarters to Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...

at about the same time. Lincoln Rochester Trust Company (now Chase Bank

Chase (bank)

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...

) opened a 28-story office tower, the Chase Tower

Chase Tower (Rochester)

The Chase Tower, also known as Lincoln First Bank , is a skyscraper located in Rochester, New York, USA. It is the third tallest skyscraper in Rochester, standing at . It has 27 floors and was constructed in 1973. The architect responsible for designing the building was John Graham & Company. It...

at Clinton Avenue South and East Main Street. Later in the '70s, new offices and hotels were constructed along State Street, just north of Main Street. Most of Front Street and part of Corinthian Street were obliterated in the process. At Main Street and the Genesee River, a new hotel was opened, as was one at South Avenue and Main Street. In 1978, city hall moved to the old Federal Building at State and Church.

In the 1990s, a new baseball stadium, Frontier Field

Frontier Field

Frontier Field is a baseball stadium located at One Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester, New York. The park opened in 1996, replacing Silver Stadium in northern Rochester, which had been home to professional baseball in Rochester since 1929...

, was built for the Rochester Red Wings

Rochester Red Wings

The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...

on State Street near the Kodak office building. Bausch and Lomb constructed a new world headquarters just south of Main Street straddling Stone Street and a new Central Library to replace the Rundel Memorial Building was erected across from the Rundel Building on South Avenue.

The new millennium

The population of the City of Rochester at the 2000 census was 219,773, down 33.9% from its peak in 1950. In 2003 Rochester built a ferry terminal to house the Spirit of Ontario I. The "Fast Ferry" was short lived and after troubles with the start-up and operations, newly elected mayor of Rochester Robert Duffy announced that the city government would be cutting funds for the ferry. The city sold the Spirit of Ontario I in 2007 to the German company Förde Reederei Seetouristik Gmbh & Co (FRS)

Förde Reederei Seetouristik

-Conventional passenger ferries:* MS Hansestadt Stralsund * MS Insel Hiddensee * MS Gellen * MS Schaprode * MS Altefähr * MS Atlantis -Double End Carferries:...

for 30 million US dollars.

In 2006, a new stadium funded by private and public sources, PAETEC Park, was opened, not far from Frontier Field.

In 2007, PAETEC Holding Corp.

PAETEC Holding Corp.

PAETEC Holding Corp. is a FORTUNE 1000 telecommunications company headquartered in Perinton, New York, USA. It was founded as the private company PaeTec Communications, Inc. in 1998 by its current CEO, Arunas A. Chesonis...

announced that they would be building a new tower downtown in place of Midtown Plaza

Midtown Plaza

Midtown Plaza may refer to:*Midtown Plaza , a building in Charlotte, North Carolina *Midtown Plaza , a shopping mall in Rochester, New York...

. The PAETEC Tower

PAETEC Tower

PAETEC Headquarters is a building proposed and approved for construction in Rochester, New York. It would serve as the new headquarters for the Rochester-based telecommunications company, PAETEC Holding Corp. Its proposed height is 40 floors with a LEED-certified rooftop garden and proposed year is...

was said to be built slightly higher than the Xerox Tower