USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Rochester and Monroe County: A history and guide > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
Phelps and Gorham gave Indian Allen 100-acre tract for mill site.
1790 Orringh Stone settled in East Ave .; house still standing.
1792 William Hincher built first cabin between Genesee River and Fort Niagara.
1794 Town of Northfield organized; comprised present towns of Pittsford, Penfield, Henrietta, Brighton, Perinton, Irondequoit, and Webster. First school in Pittsford.
423
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
1796 King's Landing, later called Hanfords Landing, settled.
1797 Louis Philippe with two brothers visited the Genesee Falls.
First crop of grain harvested.
First schooner, the Jemima, built on Genesee River.
1800 Col. Nathaniel Rochester, Col. William Fitzhugh, and Maj. Charles Carroll visited the Genesee country.
1801 Trading center at mouth of Genesee named Charlotte.
1803 Rochester, Fitzhugh, and Caroll purchased 100-acre tract for $1,750.
1804 Castle Town established by Col. Isaac Castle at the Rapids.
1805 First Genesee flood. Charlotte established by Congress as a port of entry.
1809 New York State Legislature passed an act for con- struction of bridge across the Genesee at the Falls.
1810 State began wooden bridge over Genesee at what is now Main St. DeWitt Clinton made first visit to site of Rochester. Bounty on rattlesnakes increased.
1811 First lots sold on 100-acre tract.
1812 First dwelling on 100-acre tract built for Hamlet Scrantom on present site of Powers Building. Main Street bridge completed.
Village of Frankfort laid out at Main Falls.
1813 Sacrifice of White Dog celebrated for last time by Indians, in what is now Livingston Park. First public conveyance, ox team and wagon between Rochesterville and Indian Landing, operated semi- weekly. First school taught by Huldah Strong. Abelard Reynolds built frame house on site of present Arcade.
424
CHRONOLOGY
1814 Commodore Yeo of British Navy repulsed at Char- lotte by strategy. First schoolhouse built on site of present Board of Education Building.
1815 First Presbyterian Church organized, first religious society in Rochester. First village census taken; 331 pop. First wedding solemnized.
1816 First newspaper established, Weekly Gazette. Village of Carthage founded at Lower Falls. Cotton mill began operation: 1,392 spindles.
1817 Village of Rochesterville incorporated. First steamboat, the Ontario, touched at Port of Rochester. First Fourth of July celebration held. First volunteer fire company formed.
1818 Nathaniel Rochester and family settled permanently in Rochester. First Sunday School organized. Exports from Port of Rochester, $380,000.
1819 Carthage Bridge finished: called highest wooden single-arch bridge in the world. Erie Canal route through city surveyed.
1820 Carthage bridge collapsed. First U. S. census taken; 1,502 pop. St. Luke's Episcopal Church built.
1821 Monroe County created from Genesee and Ontario Counties.
Cornerstone of first courthouse laid. Erie Canal aqueduct commenced, employing convict labor from Auburn prison.
1822 Name of Rochesterville changed to Rochester. Lighthouse erected at Charlotte; still standing. Third village census taken: 2,700 pop.
1823 Aqueduct completed. First fair held in Monroe County. St. Patrick's Church built on site of present Cathedral.
425
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
1824 Thurlow Weed became editor of Rochester Telegraph. Bank of Rochester incorporated. First Presbyterian Church erected.
1825 Erie Canal formally opened. General Lafayette visited Rochester. First church organ installed in St. Luke's Church.
1826 Rochester Daily Advertiser established as first daily west of Albany. William Morgan abducted. First public library opened.
1827 First Rochester village directory issued. First high school established.
1828 Reynolds Arcade built. First temperance meeting held.
1829 Sam Patch made fatal leap over Falls of the Genesee. Joseph Smith found golden plates at Cumorah Hill.
1830 Last wolf in Monroe County killed. Second Federal census of village taken; 9,207 pop.
1831 Col. Nathaniel Rochester died, May 31.
1832 Cholera epidemic broke out, Ashbel Riley buried 80 victims unaided. Rochester Board of Health established.
1833 Daily Democrat founded. Second cholera epidemic occurred. First successful reaping machine invented by Obed Hussey. Rise of Millerism.
1834 Rochester incorporated as a city.
Jonathan Child elected first mayor by common council.
City's night watch increased to two men. Steamboat Genesee built and operated on Genesee River from Rapids to Geneseo.
1835 First city census taken; 14,404 pop. First Rochester Water Works Company incorporated.
426
CHRONOLOGY
1836 First balloon ascension. Mount Hope Cemetery established.
1837 Financial crash; first relief work offered unemployed -grading Buffalo St. (now Main St. W.).
1838 Rochester Orphan Asylum incorporated. Rochester Antislavery Society formed.
1839 First antislavery convention held.
1840 First theater opened in city. Plate-glass windows introduced in Rochester by Abelard Reynolds. Third Federal census taken; 20,191 pop. Ellwanger nursery founded.
1841 Remains of Boyd and Parker brought from Cuyler- ville to Mount Hope Cemetery. First free school established. Board of Education organized.
1842 Second Erie Canal aqueduct completed. Pistol duel fought on Pinnacle Hills; no casualties.
1843 Masonry revived. Berith Kodesh Temple founded. John Quincy Adams visited city.
1844 First telegraph office opened. Second city charter granted by legislature. Millerites awaited the end of the world.
1845 First Jewish child born in city. Third state census taken; 26,965 pop.
1846 First Universalist Church Society organized. Newspaper telegraph service begun.
1848 Fox sisters heard mysterious rappings in Hydeville haunted house-first seed of Spiritualism. Frederick Douglass published the North Star. Women's rights convention held. Spiritualism brought to Rochester by Fox sisters.
1849 First gas lamps installed. Jesse W. Hatch employed first female clerk, in his shoe store. Cholera epidemic in city resulted in 160 deaths.
427
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
1850 University of Rochester and Theological Seminary established.
Third city charter passed by legislature.
Free public schools established by charter amend- ment.
First wholesale clothing manufacturing company established.
Federal census taken; 36,403 pop.
1851 Daniel Webster spoke on the Constitution and the Preservation of the Union.
Jenny Lind sang at Corinthian Hall.
Second courthouse finished.
Rochester Free Academy (high school) established.
1852 Adelina Patti (age eight) appeared with Ole Bull, singing as a child prodigy.
Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke on Wealth; and The Anglo Saxon Race.
Cholera epidemic resulted in 420 deaths.
1853 University of Rochester given eight acres on Prince St. by Azariah Boody.
New York Central & Hudson R. R. formed by con- solidation.
First chief of police appointed.
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company established.
1854 Pundit Club organized at residence of Lewis H. Morgan.
Horace Greeley spoke on Reform and Reformers.
1855 Susan B. Anthony spoke at women's rights conven- tion.
1856 Carthage suspension bridge completed.
1857 St. Mary's Hospital opened; first patient, Sept. 15. William Lloyd Garrison and Susan B. Anthony spoke at abolition meeting in Corinthian Hall.
1858 Disastrous fire at local celebration of laying of first Atlantic cable.
William H. Seward spoke at Corinthian Hall and originated the phrase, "the irrepressible conflict." Protective Fire Company formed.
428
CHRONOLOGY
1859 First liberty pole raised at corner of Franklin St. and Main St. E.
James A. Vick, nurseryman, originated selling seeds by mail.
DeLeve crossed Genesee Falls on a tight-rope.
1860 First electric system for fire alarm installed. New York, Albany & Rochester Telegraph Company consolidated with Western Union, with offices in Rochester.
Rochester Historical Society organized.
Rochester Club organized, first social club in Roch- ester.
Eight slaves passed through Rochester by Under- ground Railroad.
Federal census; 48,204 pop.
1861 Abraham Lincoln passed through city on way to in- auguration. War declared!
First regiment left Rochester for front under Col. Isaac F. Quinby.
First steam fire engines introduced in Rochester.
Anderson Hall dedicated, first building on U. of R. Campus.
Fourth city charter passed by legislature.
1862 Lewis Swift discovered his first comet from observa- tory on roof of Duffy's cidermill. Rochester Free Academy incorporated. Paid fire department organized. First street car company organized.
1863 Conscription started August 5.
Central Library established by consolidation of 17 school libraries.
Patti and Gottschalk concert given, Corinthian Hall. First street car operated, July 9. Funeral held for Col. Patrick H. O'Rorke, killed at Gettysburg.
1864 Rochester City Hospital opened. Wounded soldiers by hundreds cared for at City and St. Mary's hospitals.
429
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
Seth Green bought land in Caledonia for fish hatch- eries.
Free mail delivery instituted, one carrier each side of river.
1865 Great flood of the Genesee occurred.
Abraham Lincoln funeral train passed through Roch- ester.
Western Union stock crashed, $230 a share to $68. Newspapers opposed mail boxes on lampposts.
Daniel Powers began construction of Powers Block. Police force organized; first police uniforms issued. General Custer and General Grant spoke from Con- gress Hall balcony.
1866 Blind Tom at Corinthian Hall. First G. A. R. post in New York State organized. Queen Emma of Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) passed through, gave interview.
1867 Parks made available to public on Sundays. Seth Green perfected artificial fish hatching. Indians held ceremonial dances in Maplewood Park. Opera: The Black Crook.
1868 Charles Dickens visited Rochester. First Memorial Day exercises held. Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester created; Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid appointed bishop.
1869 Street car turntable built at Four Corners. St. Patrick's Cathedral opened.
1870 Powers Block completed. The Democrat and the Chronicle consolidated to form the Democrat d' Chronicle. Federal census 62,386.
1871 First Sunday paper published, the News Letter. Rochester Germans celebrated close of Franco- Prussian War.
1872 Smallpox and meningitis epidemics broke out. Susan B. Anthony and 13 other women arrested for voting in National election. Citizens' Gas Company incorporated.
430
CHRONOLOGY
English sparrows liberated in parks by George Bing; citizens raised subscriptions to reimburse him. Waterworks commission established.
1873 Cornerstone of new city hall laid. Rochester Driving Park organized. Free Academy built.
1874 Holley waterworks system introduced for fire protection; first stream of water used at Stewart Block fire, January 8.
First train operated over Rochester & State Line R. R. (Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh). City mourned death of President Fillmore.
1875 New city hall opened January 5; cost $337,000. First fast mail, New York to Chicago, passed through city.
Local Y. M. C. A. organized. Bible reading in public schools discontinued.
1876 School for the deaf opened at 70 St. Paul St. Centennial celebration.
New port of entry received first shipment of goods from abroad.
Municipal court organized.
Hemlock Lake water supplied by new waterworks system.
1877 Rochester Yacht Club held regatta on Lake Ontario. Run on Rochester Savings Bank stopped by display of $1,000,000 in greenbacks.
Telephone line completed from Rochester to Hem- lock Lake (28 m.), the longest then in use in the world.
Sibley Hall, U. of R., completed (gift of Hiram Sibley).
1878 Passenger elevator built on high river bank at Glen House.
Firemen's Monument dedicated at Mount Hope Cemetery.
1879 Elwood Block builtlat Main and State Sts. Bell Telephone Co. began business in Rochester.
-
43I
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
Rochester telephone exchange installed.
First Sunday edition of Democrat d' Chronicle pub- lished.
Rochester Morning Herald established.
1880 First photographic dry plates in America made by George Eastman.
Local Y. M. C. A. incorporated.
Rockefeller Hall, Theological Seminary, dedicated. Federal census, 89,366.
1881 Revised version of New Testament first sold in Roch- ester; 1,500 copies sold first day; Dr. Asahel Kendrick of Theological Seminary one of revisers.
Maud S. broke world trotting record at Driving Park; mile in 2:1012.
Memorial funeral held for President Garfield.
Clara Barton Chapter II, second Red Cross chapter in U. S., organized.
First commercial electric lights installed in Powers Art Gallery.
1882 Ground broken for elevated tracks of New York Central R. R.
First meeting of Fortnightly Club held. Street Railway Co. started line of herdics (busses) from Four Corners to city line via East Ave. Fire company first provided with horse-drawn ap- paratus.
1883 New York Central R. R. station at St. Paul St. finished.
Warner Observatory built. Powers Hotel completed.
Prof. Swift discovered new comet in Warner Ob- servatory.
1884 City celebrated 50th anniversary of incorporation as a city; Gov. Grover Cleveland guest of honor. Reynolds Library organized. First mounted police organized. First photographic films made by Eastman Company.
432
CHRONOLOGY
1885 Genesee Valley Club incorporated. Mechanics Institute organized. Charlotte Boulevard tollgate abandoned. Salvation Army opened barracks. Eastman Kodak invented. Rochester Baseball Company incorporated.
1886 Rochester Yacht Club organized. Mrs. Abelard Reynolds died, aged 102.
1887 Chamber of Commerce organized. Homeopathic Hospital incorporated. Ellwanger & Barry donated land for Highland Park. Rochester Electric Railway Co. incorporated.
1888 Park system established, Dr. Edward Mott Moore, president.
First Kodak put on market.
Fire swept Lantern Works, many lives lost. Lyceum Theater opened. Telephone subscribers organized strike. Chamber of Commerce incorporated.
1889 Cornerstone laid for Y. M. C. A. building at Court St. and South Ave.
First electric street car opened, city line to Charlotte. Old liberty pole blown down. Hahnemann Hospital incorporated. Women's Ethical Club organized.
1890 First electric street car operated on city streets. Children's Pavilion in Highland Park opened to public.
Cyclone caused heavy damage in Rochester. Federal census, 133,696.
1891 Street railway transfers first used; invented by Harry Stedman. Empire State Express made first run through city. Cornerstone of St. Bernard's Seminary laid.
1892 Riverside Cemetery established. Rochester Bar Association incorporated. Voting machine invented by Jacob H. Myer. First branch post office opened.
433
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
President Harrison present for unveiling of Soldiers and Sailors Monument.
City paralyzed by blizzard, March 11.
1893 First woman student admitted to U. of R. Woman's Educational and Industrial Union organ- ized.
St. Bernard's Seminary dedicated.
1894 Homeopathic Hospital (now the Genesee) removed to Alexander St.
Chamber of Commerce collected $11,872.49 for un- employed.
New Mechanics Institute opened.
Cornerstone of third courthouse laid.
Second Hemlock Lake conduit finished.
Individual communion cups first used in Rochester.
1895 First moving-picture machine exhibited in city. Common council purchased voting machine. David Jayne Hill resigned as president of U. of R. School board banned dancing at high school func- tions.
1896 First moving picture shown publicly, Nov. 2. First municipal skating rink opened. Voting machine used for first time. William Jennings Bryan spoke on Free Silver.
1897 Health Bureau opened first milk station for babies. Bicycle Show held in Fitzhugh Hall.
Sunday baseball games forbidden in the city.
1898 Rochester Public Health Association formed. Queen Liliuokalani of the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) visited the city.
Diamond jubilee of St. Patrick's parish celebrated.
1899 Frederick Douglass monument dedicated. Women elected to school board for first time. Rochester Academy of Medicine organized.
1900 Dr. Rush Rhees inaugurated as president of U. of R. William Jennings Bryan, Chauncey M. Depew, and Theodore Roosevelt visited Rochester. Federal census, 162,608.
434 .
CHRONOLOGY
1901 Free dental dispensary inaugurated by Rochester Dental Society.
Orphan Asylum fire caused death of 31 children. George B. Selden's patents on compression gas engine for automobiles confirmed.
Manual training introduced in public schools.
1902 First playground established, at Brown's Square. Smallpox epidemic, 1,000 cases, caused 100 deaths. Dr. George Goler performed heroic service in fighting the scourge.
East High School built on Alexander St.
1903 Dr. Adolph Lorenz visited city and performed "bloodless" operations.
Rochester Automobile Club incorporated. Masonic Temple dedicated.
1904 George Eastman gave first gift to U. of R., $60,000 for biological and physical laboratory.
Great fire on Main Street destroyed two blocks of stores, including that of Sibley, Lindsay and Curr in the Granite Building.
Rochester Gas & Electric Company and Rochester Railway & Light Company consolidated.
1905 U. of R. received $100,000 from Andrew Carnegie on condition that the college raise an equal amount. Statue of Martin B. Anderson, first president, pre- sented to U. of R.
Rochester granted a first-class city charter.
Police department traffic squad organized.
1906 Genesee Valley Club house built corner East Ave. and Gibbs St.
Susan B. Anthony died.
Rev. Dr. A. S. Crapsey tried for heresy.
Mercury at 71 degrees on January 21 broke 35-year record.
1907 New York Central bought property-cheaply-on Clinton Ave. N. for new station.
First electric cars operated on Rochester branch of Erie R. R.
St. Mary's Hospital observed 50th anniversary.
435
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
1908 Monument to Schiller unveiled in Anderson Park. Miss Frances A. Baker gave 120 acres for addition to Genesee Valley Park.
Durand-Eastman Park opened.
Additional acres given Cobb's Hill Park by George Eastman.
1909 Fire destroyed Berith Kodesh Temple. Rochester baseball team won pennant in Eastern League.
Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid died.
1910 Official city flag first displayed. Local Boy Scouts organized.
First attempt at flying in Rochester made by ama- teurs.
Buffalo Bill, former resident, made last appearance in Rochester.
Theodore Roosevelt addressed mass meeting in Con- vention Hall.
Federal census 218,149.
1911 Sunday ball-playing in the parks officially sanctioned. John J. Frisbie made his first successful airplane flight over the city.
First board of trustees of public library named by mayor.
1912 Memorial Art Gallery given to U. of R. by Mrs. James Sibley Watson in memory of her son.
Automotive fire apparatus installed.
First horse show held at Industrial Exposition. $1,000,000 endowment fund for U. of R. raised by popular subscription.
Land on Prince St. & University Ave. donated by Dr. John P. Mann for Women's College.
1913 City purchased property at Canadice Lake to aug- ment water supply.
River in highest flood since 1865.
Common council approved ordinance for control of the Genesee by building retaining walls and deepen- ing the river bed.
Rochester Zoological Society obtained land in Dur- and-Eastman Park for deer and buffalo.
436
CHRONOLOGY
Decision in favor of the city in Morton Rundel will case assured construction of Rundel Memorial Building.
Nelly McElroy appointed first policewoman.
1914 Friendly Home purchased twenty acres at East Ave. and Landing Road.
New Station of New York Central R. R. at N. Clinton and Central Aves. opened.
Earthquake shock frightened many citizens.
1915 Bureau of Municipal Research established. Cornerstone of Central Y. M. C. A. laid, Gibbs Street.
George Eastman's gift of building for Chamber of Commerce announced.
Rochester Dental Dispensary established.
Charlotte village became twenty-third ward.
1916 Cornerstone of Chamber of Commerce Building, St. Paul St., laid.
New Jewish Orphan Asylum opened on Genesee St. President Woodrow Wilson addressed crowds at railroad station.
1917 War declared with Germany, April; Rochester units mobilized for war service.
Dorsey Home for dependent negro children incor- porated.
1918 Union Advertiser and Rochester Times consolidated. Rochester section of new Barge Canal opened. Food Administration rationed meat, sugar, etc. Epidemic of influenza caused many deaths. False and real armistice celebrated.
1919 King Albert, Queen Elizabeth, and Crown Prince Leopold of Belgium passed through city. Cardinal Mercier of Belgium addressed large audience. Gift of Eastman School of Music to U. of R. an- nounced.
City planned purchase of Erie Canal bed for subway. Bronze tablet placed on Council Rock in East Ave. opposite the old Orringh Stone house.
437
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
1920 Erie Canal feeder ceded to city for boulevard. DeValera visited mother and spoke in Convention Hall.
Genesee Valley Club purchased Gilman H. Perkins home on East Ave.
Street car fare raised to seven cents.
Federal census 295,750.
1921 Massachusetts claimed right to Ontario Beach.
1922 U. S. Supreme Court sustained rights of Rochester to Ontario Beach.
Rochester Female Charitable Society celebrated cen- tennial.
Name of Exposition Park changed to Edgerton Park. Stop-and-go traffic signals given trial.
1923 Post Express sold to William Randolph Hearst. U. of R. filed application to build medical, surgical, and dental school and hospital. Berith Kodesh Temple celebrated 75th anniversary. Chapter of Society of Colonial Wars organized.
1924 Broad Street over the subway formally opened. Community Players organized.
Nazareth College for Women opened.
Oak Hill Country Club deeded land to U. of R. for River Campus.
Tablet placed to mark site of Col. Nathaniel Roch- ester's house at Spring and South Washington Sts.
1925 Cluett-Peabody Building (with statue of Mercury) loaned by George Eastman for City Hall Annex. Tablet dedicated to mark old liberty pole. City manager charter plan submitted to common council.
Sunday sports, with admission charged, legalized.
1926 Strong Memorial Hospital opened.
Democrat & Chronicle and Rochester Herald merged. Homeopathic Hospital changed name to Genesee Hospital. First experimental air-mail flight attempted, Roch- ester to Cleveland.
438
CHRONOLOGY
New Municipal Hospital opened.
U. of R. School of Medicine and Dentistry opened. Traffic light system installed.
1927 Ellison Park dedicated; first Monroe County Park. Statue to Dr. Edward Mott Moore dedicated in Genesee Valley Park.
Knights of Columbus building dedicated. Stephen B. Story elected first city manager.
Spiritualist memorial monument dedicated.
1928 Municipal aviation field named Rochester Airport. Final judicial settlement of estate of Morton W. Rundel made; $850,000 accrued to city.
Cornerstone for new Masonic Temple on Main St. E. laid.
Old Corinthian Hall closed.
1929 New site of Colgate-Rochester Divinity School dedi- cated.
Metropolitan Opera Company appeared at Eastman Theater.
Mechanics Institute, founded as the Rochester Athen- aeum, celebrated its centennial.
Rochester Boy Scouts at world jamboree in England comprised largest troop from cities in U. S.
Rochester declared to be the safest city in U. S. on basis of record of fewest accidents, and awarded national motor banner.
Monroe County Park Commission announced pur- chase of old Rand Powder Mill site for county park.
1930 River Campus of Men's College of U. of R. dedicated October 9.
Kodak office addition made it tallest building in the city.
U. S. census gave Monroe County 423,881 pop., Rochester, 328,132.
Ward's Natural Science Museum destroyed by fire.
1931 Bausch Memorial Bridge and Veterans' Memorial Bridge formally opened.
Teletype apparatus for weather forecasts installed at airport.
439
ROCHESTER AND MONROE COUNTY
Rochester Episcopal Diocese founded.
Police radio station WPDR used for first time, June 8. Last car operated on the Rochester & Syracuse R. R. and a bus line opened, June 28.
The Rochester Savings Bank began its second century.
1932 Gannett Newspapers Inc. acquired controlling inter- est in radio station WHEC.
Colgate-Rochester Divinity School dedicated new campus buildings.
The Right Rev. David Lincoln Ferris instituted first bishop of the new Episcopal Diocese of Rochester. St. Mary's, Rochester's oldest hospital, began cele- bration of its diamond jubilee.
Worst tornado in city's history, on July 1, killed two; scores injured, and property damage totaled hun- dreds of thousands of dollars.
Lomb Memorial unveiled; F. Trubee Davidson, Assistant Secretary of War, spoke.
1933 Radio Station WHAM dedicated its new high- power transmitting equipment.
New Rundel Memorial Building site selected. Federal Public Works Administration pledged grant of $1,490,000 for erection of new John Marshall High School.
New Reynolds Arcade built.
1934 Feb. 9 recorded as coldest day in Rochester; tempera- ture 22 degrees below zero.
Rochester's Centennial Celebration held.
New post office opened April 2.
Capacity house attended Metropolitan Opera Com- pany's performance of Howard Hanson's Merry Mount in Eastman Theater.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.