A Brief Look at Rochester NY
You may not know that Rochester NY was the first American boomtown.This tract was purchased in 1803 by Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, for whom Rochester NY is named, Major Charles Carroll, and Colonel William Fitzhugh, Jr. largely because the cataracts of the Genesee River had the potential for generating a great deal of water power. This water power would eventually prove to be vital to the flour producing industry. After surveying began in 1811, streets and roads were laid out, and in 1817 other area landowners joined their holdings with the Hundred Acre Tract to form the Village of Rochesterville. Rochesterville was the seat of Monroe County, New York by 1821 and was rechartered as a city under the shortened name of Rochester in 1834.
The Erie Canal Aqueduct, at the site of the modern day Broad Street Bridge in downtown Rochester NY, was built in 1823 to direct the waters of the newly constructed Erie Canal over the Genesee River. 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. The Flour City eventually became known as the Flower City as the westward moving flour producing industry was replaced by numerous nurseries that had grown up around the city.The region saw its own Industrial Revolution after the Civil War. Giants such as the Eastman Kodak Company and Bausch and Lomb were founded during this time.The Gannett newspaper conglomerate and Western Union also had their start in Rochester NY. In response to the regional decline in manufacturing during the latter part of the twentieth century, imaging and optical science is now prominent among local universities and companies, giving Rochester its latest 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. Why not consider it as a place to hang your hat. You will not be disappointed.