Rochester NY, the Nations First Boomtown

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. The flour mills from which the city would earn its first nickname were eventually to take full advantage of this water power. 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 was the seat of Monroe County, New York by 1821 and was rechartered as a city under the shortened name of Rochester 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. Having grown to the largest flour producing city in the United States by 1838, Rochester NY became known as the Flour City. Its population had also doubled by that time, making Rochester the first boomtown of the United States. 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. It was during this era that the Eastman Kodak Company and Bausch and Lomb were founded.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.

Rochester NY is poised to take on any economic challenge, given its rich history of entrepreneurship and adaption to change. Why not consider it as a place to hang your hat. You will not be disappointed.