A Walking Tour of A Rochester, New York

By Doug Gelbert

There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. This walking tour of Rochester, New York from walkthetown.com is ready to explore when you are. Each walking tour describes historical, architectural landmarks, cultural sites and ecclesiastic touchstones and provides step-by-step directions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug Gelbert
• Release date: Nov 11, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452331614

Book preview

A Walking Tour of Rochester, New York

a walking tour in the Look Up, America series from walkthetown.com

by Doug Gelbert

published by Cruden Bay Books at Smashwords

Copyright 2010 by Cruden Bay Books

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Ebenezer Indian Allen was the first settler in this area. He had obtained a grant of 100 acres at a gaping cataract on the Genesee River with the provision that he build a mill. Allen built his mill in 1789 but nobody was in a hurry to make use of it, let alone settle nearby. No one wanted to deal with the Genesee Fever that was almost certain to come due to the mosquitoes infesting the dismal swamp around the falls. The rattlesnakes didn’t help either. Allen had moved on by 1792.

Title for the land subsequently passed through several owners, none who did anything to develop it. Finally the property came into the hands of three Maryland men and in 1811 one of them, Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, began offering lots for sale. This time a few settlers trickled in; there was a tavern by 1815, a newspaper in 1816 and the next year the village was incorporated as Rochesterville. It was only one of eight similar settlements scattered along the final eight miles of the Genesee River’s run to Lake Ontario, and far from the most promising. Carthage had built a great bridge across the river in 1819 that drew travelers and trade but after 15 months it buckled and collapsed. And about the same time the Erie Canal was routed through Rochester, along today’s Broad Street, and that dealt a death blow to its rivals. Rochester was named the county seat of the new Monroe County in 1821, soon absorbed the surrounding communities and was off and running.

The awesome power of the Upper Falls of the Genesee had begun to be harnessed as well, most efficiently by the Brown Brothers,