Rochester High School - Mirage Yearbook (Rochester, PA)

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--Zifzsfott, of Rochester-rgfg ,, 3 U: VA! X ...Liz ,fl gf, fl 1 I lfgljl QWQ. , A . . nh., 'J X---Y kv' A A 1 li , 'i, l J... ri l' U., - . At the confluence of the Ohio and Bea- ver Rivers, bounded on the south side by the Ohio and on the west side by the Beaver lies the borough of Rochester. During the eighteenth century it was an important ren- devous for the Mingo Indians, and was known as Logan,s Town because the famous Indian chief, Logan, had his lodge here. It was formerly part of Beaver, but as early as 1845 the name East Bridgewater was used to designate that part of the town op- posite Bridgewater, and Fairport was the section farther east. The honor of giving this town the name of Rochester belongs to Mitchell Hammond, who kept a grocery store on Water Street, sometime between 1837 and 1840. He purchased some gro- ceries in Pittsburg', and had them shipped to him at Rochester, hence the name. Early after the opening of the north side of the Ohio to the settlement of the whites jk .sf .X 2. gg., it QVfP.f2.9 C- fi, . B its 6 1 E fi Wifi, ..-ff-W .- 1 7 we find a few log cabins being built. Who built the first one is not known, but we do know that in 1799 Francis Reno built a log cabin just below where the Passavant Me- morial Home now stands. Industry began to develop here as early as 1806. Amasa Brown built a fleet of boats for Aaron Burr, and it might also be men- tioned here that it was his son, Perry Brown, who was the author of the school house flag bill, which resulted in the present display of the American flag on public school buildings throughout the United States. But the real growth of the village did not begin until the building of the Pittsburgh and Erie divi- sion of the Pennsylvania Canal. Freight 3 V 9, V., 3 lA 'J X wig Boi' 1 fav. F fu 1-as cv .-- Sy 1- . as Ng t ,glli fl .gi . RM-is O 1. ' -. 1 . L. f xi- 4111. -J ii was brought by canal boat from the Great Lakes section and transferred here to river boats and carried down the Ohio and Mis- sissippi Rivers. A ferry boat was also for many years operated between Rochester and Philipsburg fnow Monacaj by Captain Joseph R. Campbell. In 1836, a man by the name of Ovid Pinney invested 530,000 in land here and prepared to build a large town. He sent Marcus T. C. Gould here to look after his interests and the sale of his land. Among the early citizens no one did more to ad-

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fJ,,FJ fb T ' 1 X , ff 1 Y Aff ffl -: x , A sv- f ma-- eg .., . I .: T- 1 + hxix -T- +2- vance the business interests than he did. Even today titles to property are traced back to the map he made of this section, called Pinney's Plan of Lots. With the passing of the canal and the advent of the railroad, Rochester still had an advantage of position. The first rail- road track was built here in 1851, and with it came untold possibilities. The next thing necessary for the material advancement of the town was manufacturing. In 1854 the Rochester Manufacturing Company was or- ganized on Water Street and at first, bar- rels were made here, and a short time later cars for railroads. One of the earliest in- dustries was the fire brick works started by the Pendleton Brothers. In 1872 the Roches- ter Tumbler Company was organized and became the largest company of the kind in the world with a factory extending one- half mile along the river and eventually employing as many as 1100 employees. An outgrowth of this company was the H. C. Fry Glass Company in North Rochester. Once started, factories seemed to spring up over night, including flour mills, bottle works, lumber yards, stove works, marble and granite works, etc. Rochester was incorporated as a bor- ough by an Act of Assembly on March 20, 1849. Ar this time there were two hun- dred twenty-eight taxable persons who met for an election of borough officers. A11 persons who had resided within the limits for one year and who were entitled to vote for members of the State Legislature were given the right to vote at the first election. The first town clerk was W. Boyd, and the first council was composed of R. G. Parks, Boles, I. Gray and Dr. T. C. Chandler. The town continued to progress' and in- crease in population, and the churches and schools became the very center of com- munity life. The first church to be erected was the Trinity Episcopal in 1852, which still stands today, and two years later the St. Cecilia's Roman Catholic and the Grace Lutheran were built, both of which have been replaced by other structures. As we look at Rochester now we note many changes that have taken place in the last century. Paved streets have replaced the old dirt roads, brick and cement side- walks have taken the place of the old board- walks. People no longer have to carry oil lanterns at night. The old ferry boat was replaced by a bridge between Monaca and Rochester at the lower end of Brighton Avenue and when this became unsafe for the extensive travel caused by automobiles and trucks a more substantial one was built in the present location which is now in use. In 1892 the Peoples Electric Street Railway Company was started, but this, in turn, has been done away with in favor of buses. One of the early pioneers, if he could look at Rochester today would not recognize it because of the many changes and the ad- vancement made during the last century and we feel sure that our town will con- tinue to progress as the years go by. 44N w-ijt , ,lx Q . fEflTZ,lE--'l'ib5i5,jLfgYQf.-3521:-2 3- . X Aki ' f5Lt 1+ Hrs-set. e-wr.--I fs QFLT 5 W , ,,'.-i-T .wp--7 . - -.-.1-rg sa. ,A 1, -fi' Z Awe-in-' v Q ' ian iff? -i . . . .. ,434 , , .- , ' I I f w abs f ff-eff 'P . - 4 1m . f -ff df.- ,grae f--eq fe -2- ' Xia ng , f , . ,ggseig X ,, k Wayan' if f A-iff' t , I '45 , f ,ff . , W , -i- R --'. f ,f -I. .:-- X- f - 21,57