Rochester, New York, USA
1854 - Rochester

Rochester, a city, capital of Monroe county, New York, is situated on both sides of Genesee river. 7 miles from its entrance into Lake Ontario, 230 miles by railroad W. by N. from Albany, and 68 miles E. N. E. from Buffalo. Lat. 43° 8' N., Lon. 77° 51' W. Rochester is the largest town on the great thoroughfare above alluded to, excepting Albany and Buffalo, and is a place of rapid growth, and remarkable for its extensive manufactories of flour and other articles. The site of this city is nearly level. The streets vary from 60 to 80 feet in width, and arc generally straight and well paved. The principal street, extending E. and W. through the centre of the town, and crossing the river by a bridge, is called Main street on the E., and Buffalo street on the W. side of the river. The greater number of public buildings and many of the residences are handsomely built of brick or of limestone quarried in the immediate vicinity. The streets are generally bordered with shade-trees, and lighted with gas, and many of the dwellings have gardens and ornamental grounds attached. The city has several public squares, and the two divisions are connected by 4 or 5 bridges. The corporate limits occupy an area of 7 square miles, but it is not very compactly built.

The new court house and city hall on Buffalo street is a large and beautiful structure, with a granite fronts-cost $80,000. The Arcade is a handsome building occupied partly by the post-office department. The Western House of Refuge for juvenile offenders is a fine large brick building, finished in 1851 at a cost of $05,000 ; it is 382 feet long, 3 stories high, and contains 190 delinquents. The main edifice of the Rochester University is 100 feet by 60, and 4 stories high, with a wing 75 feet by 60. Many of the churches and hotels are large and handsome buildings. The university was organized in November, 1850, with an endowment of $150,000, and is under the direction of the Baptists. The Baptist Theological Seminary of this place was founded in 1850, with an endowment of $75,000. The Rochester Athenaeum has 3000 members, with a library of 7100 volumes, and an annual course of lectures. The Rochester Sunday School Union is com posed of 335 schools, with 4347 pupils, and 8000 volumes in the libraries. There are 2 orphan asylums. The public press consists of 4 daily and tri-weekly and 7 weekly news papers, 1 monthly agricultural, and 1 monthly horticultural journal. Rochester contains 44 churches, among which there are 9 Presbyterian, 9 Methodist Episcopal, 4 Baptist, 3 Episcopal, G Catholic, and 13 others of various denominations. Among the principal hotels are the American, the Eagle, the Waverly, the Clinton, Blossom's Hotel ; the Mansion House, the Rochester, and Congress Hall. The city contains 6 banks. The Rochester tins Light Company, with a capital of $125,000, have 10 miles of "mains," 140 city lamps, and 1100 private consumers. The Erie canal, passing through the central part of the city, crosses the river by a beautiful stone aqueduct about 800 feet long. The trade of Rochester is facilitated by the following improvements, besides the canal above named: - The Genesee Valley canal extends southward to the Alleghany river ; four different sections or branches of the Central railroad passing E. and W. meet here, and the Rochester and Lake Ontario railroad joins them at this point. Steamboats ascend the river to Carthage, about 2 miles below the city, and smaller boats navigate the same above the falls. The shipping of the district, June 30, 1852, amounted to an aggregate of 686 tons enrolled and licensed, all of which was employed in the coast trade, and 429 tons in steam navigation. The foreign arrivals for the year were 264, (tons, 38,903.) of which 200 (tons, 33,027) were by foreign vessels, and clearances for foreign ports for the year were the same. The above does not include the canal tonnage which is doubtless much greater...

Rochester was settled in 1812 by Nathaniel Rochester and others, incorporated in 1817, and chartered as a city in 1834. Population in 1820, 1502; in 1830, 9269; in 1840, 20,191 ; in 1850, 30,403, and in 1803, about 42,000.

A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.

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