USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Rochester and Monroe County: A history and guide > Part 2
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Masonic Temple Auditorium, Main and Prince Sts. First- class legitimate plays at irregular intervals during the theatrical season.
Community Play House, 820 Clinton Ave. S. Legitimate drama by Amateur Dramatic Membership Corporation. Season, Sept .- May.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
MOTION PICTURE HOUSES
In business district, 4 large first-run houses, 4 second-run, and one small theatre specializing in hits of previous years and selected European productions.
Twenty-two neighborhood houses serving the outlying districts with re-runs.
PARKS
(See City Tours and Tours out of Rochester.)
Cobbs Hill Park, Highland and Monroe Aves.
Durand-Eastman Park, on Lake Ontario, via Culver Rd. (Zoo).
Edgerton Park, Dewey Ave., Bloss and Backus Sts.
Genesee Valley Park, Elmwood Ave.
Highland Park, between S. Goodman St. and Mt. Hope Ave.
Maplewood Park, Lake Ave.
Ontario Beach Park, Charlotte, via Lake Ave.
Seneca Park, St. Paul St. and St. Paul Blvd. (Zoo).
ATHLETIC FIELDS
University of Rochester Athletic Field, River Blvd., reached via South Ave. to Mt. Hope Ave. to River Blvd., or by Plymouth Ave. bus. Capacity 8,000. College baseball games, April 15-June 1, admission 25c and 50c. Football, Oct .- Dec., 50c-$1.
During the summer, outdoor opera is staged here; admis- sion 50c-$2. All prices plus tax; tickets at grounds.
Edgerton Park Stadium, baseball and football; and, par- ticularly during Exposition week in September, pageants and championship quoit tournaments. The grandstand has
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GENERAL INFORMATION
a seating capacity of 4,000 persons. Parking accommoda- tions for 1,000 cars.
GOLF
One public 18-hole course in Durand-Eastman Park, two in Genesee Valley Park, one in Churchville Park (12 m. W. on State 33). Fees: residents, 50c; non-residents, $1. Club houses contain lockers, showers, and refectories. Equip- ment may be rented. Professional instructors available. Parking facilities.
Many private clubs, admission by introduction or in- vitation.
TENNIS
Forty-eight courts in city parks and playgrounds scat- tered about city. Permit necessary, issued by Park Dept., City Hall Annex, 34 Court St., 50 cents a year. Players must furnish all equipment, including nets.
SWIMMING POOLS
Pools in Genesee Valley Park and Seneca Park, open daily 10 a.m .- 10 p.m. Admission free to 5 p.m., 25c thereafter.
In Genesee Valley Park, 2 pools, one for males, one for females. In Seneca Park, one pool; 4 days for males, 3 days for females, 10 a.m .- 5 p.m .; mixed bathing 5-10 p. m. Lockers, lifeguards, and instructors.
Powder Mills Park, (11 m. S. on State 15). One pool, 120 ft. by 140 ft., depth 7 ft. Open daily 10 a.m .- 8 p.m. 2 days for females, 5 days for males. No lockers. Instructor, life guard.
BASEBALL
Rochester Baseball Stadium, Norton St., the home grounds of the "Red Wings" of the International League,
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
is reached via Clinton Ave. N., Joseph Ave., or St. Paul St. Accommodates 18,000. Admission: bleachers, 50c, grand- stand (unreserved) 75c, grandstand (reserved) $1, boxes $1.50; all prices plus tax. Tickets on sale at grounds and at 3 Clinton Ave. S. Free parking space for 500 cars and rental space for 800 cars.
Professional football games played in stadium Oct. 15- Dec. 10. Admission 25c-$1. Tickets at grounds.
HUNTING AND FISHING
Local hunting and fishing regulations are subject to state laws. Licenses are obtainable at the Court House for either hunting or fishing, or for both; combined license for resident of state, $2.25; for non-resident, $10.50. Fishing is per- mitted in Lake Ontario, its bays, and at certain points on its tributaries. Further information from General Conservation League, 34 State St.
RIFLE RANGES
National Guard, 108th Infantry, 52-acre military range at Float Bridge; a 200-yd. range, suitable for pistol, rifle, and machine gun. Members only.
National Guard, 121st Cavalry, 40-acre military range at Mendon Ponds Park, reached via State 31 and 64; a 200-yd. range, suitable for pistol, rifle, and machine gun. Members only.
Rochester National Defense Cont., Inc., 50-acre semi- military range at West Rush, reached via State 2A to Rush, West Rush Road to Golah; a 600-yd. range, suitable for large and small bore rifle, pistol, and trap shooting. Mem- bers only. Grant has been made by WPA for enlarging facilities.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Community Gun Club, East Henrietta, reached via State 2A; a semi-public regulation range for trap and skeet- shooting. Members and guests.
Rochester Sportsmanship Club, at Scottsville, reached by State 35; semi-public regulation range. Members and guests.
BRIDLE TRAILS
Mendon Ponds Park, Powder Mills Park, and Ellison Park (see Tours out of Rochester) contain many miles of marked bridle paths. Several riding academies and boarding stables, located near these parks, furnish mounts at a standardized price of $1 per hour.
The Genesee Valley Riding Academy, 1900 S. Clinton Ave., specializes in teaching children.
In 1937 local bridle trails were being mapped by the County Land and Bridle Association, 303 Wilder Bldg., where further information may be obtained.
HIKING TRAILS
The larger city parks (see City Tours) contain many well- defined trails suitable for all-season hikes.
In winter the frozen up-stream course of Black Creek, W. from Churchville Park, affords hiking through swamp lands practically inaccessible at other seasons.
An attractive scenic hike follows the course of the Portage Trail, famous in Indian history as the carry between the Genesee River above the falls and Lake Ontario. This trail begins at Genesee Valley Park near Elmwood Ave. bridge, crosses the lower part of Mount Hope Cemetery and the crest of Pinnacle Ridge, and skirts the grounds of the Hill- side Home for Children to the terminus of the Monroe Ave.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
car line. From there the actual line of the trail leads across country to Indian Landing, more accessible, however, by way of Highland Ave. and Penfield Rd. to Landing Rd., to Indian Landing, the "back door" of Ellison Park.
Strenuous hill-climbing trails lead through Ellison Park and over the wooded hills surrounding Irondequoit Bay.
For more impressive scenic hikes than are to be found in the rolling farm lands of Monroe County, the hiker may go by car to the head of Canandaigua Lake, take the east shore trail and traverse the three-mile valley of Parish Gully, which contains many waterfalls. The climb up the 60-ft. waterfall at the head of this gully, best taken in June, necessitates wading, and challenges the most experienced hiker.
In early June, when azaleas are in bloom, a pleasant hiking trail leads from the head of Honeoye Lake through Briggs Gully for 3 m. to Bulick's Swamp. To avoid rattle- snakes many hikers prefer to visit this swamp in winter.
Further information from headquarters of Genesee Valley Hiking Club, Municipal Museum, Edgerton Park.
INFORMATION FOR TOURISTS
STREET ORDER AND NUMBERING
Main St. is the principal dividing street, and in practically all instances numbering of streets begins north and south of Main St. The dividing street east and west is at the Four Corners where Exchange St. enters Main St. from the south, and State St. (Lake Ave. being its northerly continuation) enters Main St. from the north. Even numbers are upon the north and east sides of streets, and odd numbers are upon the south and west sides. Street guides may be purchased at stores, hotels, etc.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
SHOPPING
Rochester's main shopping district is on Main St., from the Four Corners at State and Exchange Sts. to Gibbs St., the principal department stores being in this area. Clinton Ave. N. and S. has grown rapidly in high class stores of various types, and there is also a distinctive line of retail shops out East Ave. from Main St. to Alexander St., at which residential zoning begins. Monroe Ave. is rapidly developing as a shopping area. In addition, throughout the city are many neighborhood centers, with retail establish- ments which afford practically complete retail merchandise service.
Rochester is a good place to shop for men's, women's, and children's wear, fine footwear, jewelry, books, furni- ture, and luggage.
CLIMATE
For a period of 39 years Rochester has enjoyed an average of 51% of sunshine. Normally the last killing frost is April 29, and the first not before October 20. The humidity over a period of 14 years averaged 71.3. The average wind ve- locity is 9.2 m.p.h. with southwest winds prevailing.
Records of temperature covering a period of 103 years show February to be the coldest month with an average temperature of 24.8°. No other monthly average falls below freezing except December, with 28.6° and January with 25.2°. July, averaging 71°, is the warmest month. The average annual temperature is 47.4°.
Thus the inhabitant of Rochester may expect per year, on the average, 85 all-clear days, 114 partly clear, and 166 cloudy. He may expect 167 days with .01 inches of rain, 94 with a trace or more, 27 with thunderstorm, 1 with a
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
dense fog, 7 with a maximum temperature of 90°, 130 with a minimum under 32°, and only 4 below zero.
INFORMATION BUREAUS
Air Lines (American): Airport, Scottsville Road, Genesee 4006. Information and reservations, 68 East Ave. Stone 2408.
Auto Club of Rochester: 127 East Ave., Stone 11.
Auto Dealers Associations, Inc .: 133 East Ave., Stone 5676. Information on sales, service, and repairs.
Better Business Bureau: 163 Main St. E., Stone 330. Reports on all publications, investments, information for buyers and sellers.
Chamber of Commerce: 55 St. Paul St., Main 546. Informa- tion: statistical, industrial, hotels, stores, and tourist bureau.
Convention & Publicity Bureau, Inc .: Washington Sq. and Clinton Ave. S., Main 1765.
City Park & Playground Dept: 34 Court St., Main 7155. All facts in regard to city parks.
County Park Dept .: 34 State St., Main 1859. All facts in regard to county park laws; camping, hunting, fishing, coasting, and skating.
County Veterans Service Bureau: 34 Court St., Room 325, Main 3105.
Luncheon Clubs: Ad Club, Sagamore Hotel, Stone 2388. City Club, Hotel Seneca, Stone 396. Kiwanis, Hotel Seneca, Main 4076. Rotary, Powers Hotel, Main 1053. Election Board: Court House, 14 B., Main 2629. Informa- tion on voting.
Fire Department: Main 34.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Hospitals: General: 501 Main St. W., Main 2660.
Genesee: 224 Alexander St., Monroe 1870.
Highland: South Ave., and Bellevue Drive, Monroe 7000.
Iola Tuberculosis Sanatorium, East Henrietta Road, Monroe 3800.
Municipal: Crittenden Blvd., Monroe 1231.
Park Ave .: 789 Park Ave., Monroe 430.
St. Mary's : 909 Main St. W., Genesee 1.
Strong-Memorial: 260 Crittenden Blvd., Monroe 2000.
Immigration and Naturalization Office: Federal Building, Church St., Main 1963.
J. Y. M. A. and J. Y. W. A .: University Ave. and Andrews St., Stone 630.
Library : Rundel Memorial Bldg., South Ave. and Court St., Main 3787.
Licenses : Court House, Main St. W., Main 4052. Hunting, fishing, dog, and automobile.
Marriage: City Hall, Main 4900.
Lake Transportation: Canada S. S. Lines, 68 East Avenue, Stone 5680. Lake Car Ferry, 155 Main St. W., Main 4780.
Museum, Municipal: Edgerton Pk., Glenwood 406.
Nurses, Physicians and Surgeons Directory: 124 Glendale Pk., Glenwood 1972.
Police Dept .: Headquarters, 137 Exchange St., Main 59. Post Office: 216 Cumberland St., Main 4792.
Real Estate Board of Rochester, Inc .: 45 Exchange St., Main 5567.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
Steamship Lines, Central Travel Bureau: 19 State St., Main 5090. Kalbfleisch Travel Bureau, Lincoln-Al- liance Bank Bldg., Stone 878.
Telegraph and Cable: Postal Telegraph, Stone 1689. West- ern Union, Main 5407.
Weather Bureau: 40 Federal Bldg., Church St., Main 2208. Y. M. C. A .: 100 Gibbs St., Stone 2942.
Y. W. C. A .: 190 Franklin St., Stone 4405.
CALENDAR OF ANNUAL EVENTS
January 6-Twelfth Night Celebration. Cobb's Hill Park (Monroe car to Highland Ave.). Admission free.
Easter Week-Easter Flower Show. Lamberton Conserva- tory, Highland Park (South Ave. car to Reservoir Ave.). Admission free.
April 26 to April 30-Music Festival. Eastman Theatre. Admission free.
Between May 15 and June 15-Apple Blossom Festival. Brockport, N. Y. (Falls branch of New York Central R. R., or by auto U.S. 104 to Clarkson and then S. to Brockport.)
Garden Club Exhibition, Convention Hall.
Lilac Festival. Highland Park (South Ave. car). Ad- mission free.
Early June-Chamber of Commerce Rose Show. Chamber of Commerce Bldg.
After Closing of Schools in June-Orphans' Annual Picnic. Sea Breeze Park (Sea Breeze bus).
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GENERAL INFORMATION
June to September-Yacht Races. Summerville (Summer- ville car). Admission free.
Labor Day Week-Rochester Exposition and Hobby Show. Edgerton Park (Dewey Ave. car).
October 12-Columbus Day. Convention Hall. Mass Meet- ing, free; banquet, nominal fee.
November-Chrysanthemum Show. Lamberton Conserva- tory, Highland Park (South Ave. car). Admission free.
Christmas Week-Christmas Flower Show. Lamberton Conservatory, Highland Park (South Ave. car). Ad- mission free.
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PART I
ROCHESTER
1
11
СЯ
АНТИРИЈА
АГАТАИЈИ •
Я
THIS
THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE
E MBRACING some 36 square miles of territory, with a population (1930) of 328,152, Rochester ranks third in size among the cities of New York State. Its geo- graphical center lies 8 miles south of Lake Ontario, at the Four Corners, the junction of Main with State and Exchange Streets, where the village of Rochesterville began to grow in the early years of the 19th century. For a hundred years the Four Corners, just west of the Genesee River, was the heart of the city's commercial life; and the old Third Ward, farther west, the "ruffled-shirt district" which grew up around the home of Col. Nathaniel Rochester, set the tone in social life. But in recent years the city has rapidly moved eastward. Today most of the leading stores, the theatrical district, and many of the larger hotels are found on the east side of the river; and East Avenue has supplanted the Third Ward in social prestige. But the Four Corners still marks the financial center of the city; and its stately old buildings, though they may grate on modern architectural tastes, re- tain an air of solid dignity that is lacking in the newer district across the river, where old buildings unceremoni- ously jostle the new and where the streets are marred by the gaps of parking lots.
Like most other American cities, Rochester has grown, not according to a plan, but rather in response to the un- regulated expression of individual enterprise; hence the helter-skelter street plan, particularly the irregular cross- hatching of short streets in the downtown business section.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
East Avenue
One result is over-concentration of traffic on Main Street, today, as originally, the principal thoroughfare. Another re- sult is that the aesthetic values which the scattered build- ings of architectural note might produce are lost, and the structures themselves are easily missed unless pointed out.
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THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE
From the central downtown section the city stretches out in every direction and crystallizes into neighborhoods, each with its own shopping district, its motion picture theatre, its school, its bank, its branch library, and its churches. Characteristic of every residential section, of whatever economic class, is the individually owned home with its carefully tended lawn or backyard, a continuing expression of the period when the nursery industry pre- vailed in Rochester.
The industries of today are not congregated in any one section of the city. They dot its skyline with clean, modern structures, usually in a park-like setting of wide, land- scaped grounds, which do not breed the slums of factory districts such as characterize most industrial towns.
South and west Rochester has not grown beyond the Barge Canal; its present trend is toward the east and toward the north, where it extends in two narrow arms to the shore of Lake Ontario.
The New York Central Railroad cuts a gash across the city east and west, marked by dingy offices and warehouses. The Genesee, called by the Senecas Casconchiagon, river of many falls, bisects the city north and south. Through the downtown section its banks are lined by the red brick rear ends of old mills and factories, a scene from which unbe- lievable beauty has been drawn by the brush of the artist. Farther north it flows by heavily wooded banks under a series of bridges, tumbles over the falls, rushes through the gorge which it has cut for itself, and meanders on into Lake Ontario.
The ten busy bridges across the river, from the Elmwood Avenue bridge, the newest and most southerly, to the Veterans' Memorial bridge, far to the north, afford views
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Veterans' Memorial Bridge
THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE
as varied as the architecture of the bridges themselves. From the Elmwood Avenue bridge, the broad sweep of the placidly flowing river in the green setting of Genesee Valley Park and the towering new buildings on the River Campus of the University of Rochester; from the Clarissa Street bridge, the harbor and the skyline of Rochester's business center; the night view from the Court Street bridge; Main Street bridge, with its business blocks on both sides entirely hiding the river; the view of the upper falls from the Platt Street bridge; the gorge and lower falls from Driving Park Avenue bridge; at the Veteran's Memorial bridge, the graceful structure of the bridge itself and the majestic vistas up and down the river-these are a few of the pic- tures in the panorama that is Rochester.
Rochester is a city of homes; in 1937, 43 percent of its families owned their homes; in pre-depression days the percentage was much larger. Main Street may be typically "Main Street," but East Avenue, shaded by over-arching elms, its pretentious homes on spreading lawns almost hidden by foliage, has been called one of the most beautiful residential streets in America. The city has other streets of a distinct individuality: Oxford, with its magnolia parkway; Clifford Avenue with its blocks of flower-filled yards; Ambassador Drive, with its new and stately homes; Livingston Park in the old "ruffled-shirt district," with its century-old mansions and air of quiet distinction.
The parks of Rochester, long admired and emulated in other cities, also have their individual charms. Highland Park has its lilacs, its azaleas, and rhododendrons, and hundreds of varieties of conifer trees; the grassy slopes of Genesee Valley Park border the waters of the winding river; Seneca Park occupies the verge of the Genesee Gorge; and Durand-Eastman Park is noteworthy for its beach, its hilly terrain, and its rose bowl.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
THE PEOPLE
To-day, as always, the English stock predominates in Rochester and largely determines the life and culture of the city. Foreign language groups appeared early, and though they first came to work with hammer, shovel, and hoe, their influence has been wide and deep in culture, in in- dustry, and in commerce. From the German love of enter- tainment came first toleration and then acceptance of the theatre. The Jews lent their genius to the development of industry and commerce. The Italians, now out-numbering all other foreign groups, fill many important posts in civic leadership. The Hollanders cultivated the widespread mar- ket garden areas. From these and other racial groups the specialized industries of Rochester have recruited most of their skilled artisans.
In point of numbers, counting both foreign and native born, the Italians lead with about 55,000 people, the Ger- mans come next with about 40,000, then the Canadians with 20,000, the English 15,000, the Poles and the Irish each over 14,000, the Russians over 10,000. In addition, there are small groups from a dozen far corners of the earth.
While Italians, Poles, and others have for a time tended to congregate in certain sections, there has never existed in the city for any long period of time a distinct foreign quarter. Segregation has been modified by a constant filtra- tion into the great body of citizens. With the lessening of immigration in recent years, Americanization has progressed rapidly.
LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD
Rochester has become so well known as the Kodak City that the diversity of its industries is often overlooked. While the giant Eastman Kodak Company affords the city industrial pre-eminence, Rochester has several other man-
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THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE
ufacturing plants that have grown with the city and in their specialized fields bring it distinction. In the manufacture of optical goods the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company ranks among world leaders. From the time that William Gleason invented the gear-cutting machine in 1865, the Gleason Works have led the world in gear-cutting machin- ery. The thermometers of the Taylor Instrument Companies contribute to the efficiency of industry and science. In the field of dental equipment, the Ritter Dental Company has no competitor in this country. The products of the Todd Company insure the banks, the business, and the govern- ments of the world against check manipulators. The Pfaudler Company manufactured in 1884 the first glass- lined steel receptacles. Yawman & Erbe for half a century have increased office efficiency by the invention and manu- facture of office equipment. The General Railway Signal Company, with its series of improved safety devices, has helped American railroads establish records for safe travel. The Delco Appliance Corporation manufactures a large variety of electrical appliances.
A complete list of Rochester industries would include over 1,000 names. More than 250 of them have been in Rochester for 50 years or more. In 1930, more than 63,000 Rochesterians were employed in manufacturing industries; and some 22,000 were working in about 6,000 stores and other commercial establishments.
Entering and leaving Rochester daily are 41 passenger trains, more than 160 busses, and 4 airplanes. In 1936 there were 105,198 inbound and 40,779 outbound freight cars, besides a network of automobile truck lines. The port of Rochester, at the mouth of the Genesee River, handles upwards of 1,000,000 tons of freight and about 70,000 passengers annually; 90 per cent of the freight consists of coal exported to Canada.
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ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
The most revealing fact about the banks of Rochester is that during the banking crisis of 1933 there were no failures and no loss of depositors' funds. The youngest bank in the city has been in operation for more than a quarter of a century; the others have records of from 40 to 100 years of growth and expansion. The aggregate resources of the six commercial and four savings banks exceed $425,000,000.
By the side of this picture of economic achievement must be placed another picture of a neighborly people taking pride in their homes, warmly cooperative in social service, pioneering in education as well as in industry, devoted to their churches, and partaking in an active, discriminating cultural life under the stimulus of their institutions in the fields of literature, music, the theatre, and the fine arts.
The people of Rochester have been accused of being overly self-complacent. When faced with the charge, they make no denial, but justify their self-satisfaction by pointing to their city with pride-to its solid economic foundations, to its industrial preeminence in many fields, to its parks, its museums, its churches, its homes, its university, its Eastman School of Music, its symphony orchestra, its famous sons and daughters, its Genesee River, and the illustrious part it has played in the development of state and nation.
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HISTORY
ORIGINS
I HE beginnings of Rochester go back to the settlement of eight villages the sites of which are now included within the city limits. Rochesterville itself, from which the main line of descent derives, stood upon part of the land known in history as the Mill Yard Tract. After the Revolutionary War, both New York and Massachu- setts laid claim to a large part of what is now western New York State. By compromise in 1787, sovereignty over the land was awarded to New York and ownership to Massachusetts. In 1788 Massachusetts sold some 6,000,000 acres of land to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, on condition that they obtain title from the Indians. The Indians ceded them 2,600,000 acres east of the Genesee and added 200,000 acres west of the river for a mill yard on condition that a mill be erected on this land for their use. Phelps and Gorham conveyed a 100-acre tract on the west river bank at the falls of the Genesee to Ebenezer "Indian" Allen on which he was to build and operate a grist mill. The place was known as The Falls.
When Allen moved into his mill in 1789 he became the first white settler on the site of Rochesterville. So sparsely settled was the section in that year that when the mill was completed, only 14 men attended the raising bee and drank the canoe-load of rum provided for the occasion.
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