Rochester New York

One would think that a city like Chicago or Pittsburgh would have been the first American boomtown, but in reality the title is held by none other than Rochester NY.Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, from whom Rochester NY gets its name, Major Charles Carroll, and Colonel William Fitzhugh, Jr. purchased this tract in 1803 because the Genesee River had the potential to generate a great deal of water power. This water power would eventually prove to be vital to the flour producing industry. This One Hundred Acre Tract was surveyed beginning in 1811, streets and roads were laid out, and in 1817 the original founders joined their holdings with that of other area landholders to form the Village of Rochesterville. Rochesterville, its name shortened to Rochester by 1823, soon became the seat of Monroe County, New York and was rechartered as a city in 1834.

By 1823, the Erie Canal had made its way westward, and an aqueduct was constructed over the Genesee River at the site of the present day Broad Street Bridge in downtown Rochester, NY. The Erie Canal now connected Rochester to all points east and west. Originally dubbed The Young Lion of the West, Rochester NY became known as the Flour City, reflecting its status by 1838 as the largest flour producing city in the United States. Also doubling in population by 1838, Rochester earned distinction as the first American boomtown. As the wheat producing industry moved further west during the nineteenth century, Rochester NY soon was referred to as the Flower City in reference to the numerous nurseries that grew up around the city.The post Civil War years brought renewed industrial growth to the region. Giants such as the Eastman Kodak Company and Bausch and Lomb were founded during this time.The Gannett newspaper company and Western Union were also founded in Rochester NY. The prominence of imaging and optical science among local universities and companies in response to a regional decline in manufacturing has given Rochester its modern nickname as The Worlds Image Centre.

With its rich history of entrepreneurship and adaptation to change, Rochester NY is poised to weather any economic storm. The region has much to offer. Rochester NY will not disappoint.