From Flour City to The World Image Centre

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. 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.
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. Rochester was now connected to all points east and west by the Erie Canal. 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 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. You will not be disappointed.

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