Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/224

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ROCHESTER. 203 ROCHESTER. COO. Consult Palmer, Rochester Calhedrai (London, 1897). ROCHESTER. A city in Straflford County, N. H., 52 miles southwest of Poi-thmd, Maine, on the Coelu'co River, and on the Boston and Maine and the Portland and Kochester railroads ( Map : Xew Hampshire, K 8). It has a public library. The annual fair held here is very largely at- tended. Shoes, woolen goods, brick, and lumber products constitute the most important manu- factures. E.xcellcnt water power for the various «'stablishnients is derived from the Coclieco Kiver. The population, in 1890, was 7396; in 1900, 8406. Rochester was incorporated as a town by ro.yal charter in 1722, Ijut was not set- tled until six years later. In 1891 it was char- tered as a city. Consult McDufl'ee, History of the Toim of Rochester (Manchester, N. H., 1892). ROCHESTER. The county-seat of Monroe County, N. Y., and the third largest city of the State, 69 miles east by north of Bufl'alo (Map: New York, C 2 ) . It is situated seven miles from Lake Ontario, and is nearly bisected by the Genesee River, which flows through a deep, pre- cipitous gorge in the northern part of the cit_v. In three falls and several rapids it makes a total descent of 257 feet within the municipal limits. The upper falls, 95 feet high, are near the centre of the eitv. Ten bridges span the river, one of which is 212 feet high and 990 feet long. The aqueduct (848 feet long and 45 feet wide) by which the Erie Canal crosses the river is also a noteworthy engineering feature. Among the railroads that enter Rochester are the New Y^ork Central and Hudson River, the West Shore, the Erie, the Lehigh Valley, the Pennsylvania, th^ Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg, and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg. The site of the cit.y is level and elevated, its altitude being about 500 feet above the sea and 263 feet above Lake Ontario. Its total area is 18 square miles. Rochester is well laid out. The streets are broad and regular, and iu the resi- dential district are very beautiful. Here the de- tached residences, the abundance of shade trees, and lawns and gardens are well worthy of note. The total mileage of streets is about 325, of which 126 miles are paved, asphalt, granite, and Belgian blocks and macadam being mostly used. The parks and cemeteries are of special interest. In addition to a number of small parks and squares in various parts of the city, there are the Genesee Valley Park, the largest in area (340 acres), the East and West Seneca, and Highland parks. The Genesee Valley Park and Seneca Park are on the Genesee River, the latter being situated on both banks. They are noted for their wild picturesqueness. In Seneca Park (East) are zoological gardens. Highland Park has an extensive collection of low-growing trees and shrubs. Washington Square contains the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. The public park system includes 692 acres. Among the cemeteries, the most noteworthy is Mount Hope, established in 1838. Frederick Douglass is buried here. A statue to his memory was erected in 1898 in one of the city squares. Many charming summer resorts on the shore of the lake are con- nected with the city by electric roads, as well as by splendid driveways. The street railway sys- tem now reaches considerably beyond the city limits, and plans have been" projected for its extension as far as Syracuse to the east and Niagara Falls and Buffalo to the west. The court-house, of granite, completed in 1896, is prominent among the public buildings. Other structures of note are the city hall, the post- office, the Chamber of Commerce, the State arse- nal, the Powers Hotel, the Powers Building, the Masonic Temple, the Free Academy, the East Side and West Side High Schools, the Genesee Valley Club House, the A'ilder Build- ing, the German-American Building, and the Granite Building. There are a number of charitable and penal institutions. The West- ern New York Institution for Deaf Mutes is here, as are also a State Industrial School and a State Hospital for the Insane. Besides the Mon- roe County Penitentiary and the County Alms- house, there are many private charities, among which may be mentioned the Old Ladies' Home, hospitals, asylums, etc. Rochester is the seat of the University of Rochester (Baptist), opened in 1850, Rochester Theological Seminary (Bap- tist), opened in 1851. and Saint Bernard's Semi- nary (Roman Catholic), opened in 1893. The University of Rochester and the Rochester Theo- logical Seminary, though under the same denomi- national control, have no direct relation with each other. The Wagner Slemorial College is the most prominent of the schools for secondary edu- cation. The Mechanics' Institute, founded in 1885, is similar in scope to the Armour Institute of Chicago. It has been recently installed in a new building, costing $250,000. Its students number more than 4000. The Reynolds Library with more than 50,000 volumes, the Central Li- brary with 35,000, and the Law Library with 21,000, are the largest collections of books in the city, aside from those belonging to the educa- tional institutions. Rochester is primarily a manufacturing city. It is, nevertheless, the distributing centre for a highly productive agricultural section, and car- ries on considerable lake commerce through its port, Charlotte, on Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Genesee. The foreign trade of the Genesee customs district in 1901 was valued at .$2,123,000, of which more than .$1,280,000 was exports. The inuuense water power afTovded by the Genesee River at this point has given Rochester the name 'Power City.' This natural advantage has con- tributed largely to the industrial prominence of the city. The water power is electrically de- veloped. In 1901 these works were equipped to furnish 30,000 horse power, and a considerable expansion of the sj'stem was then in prospect. Once noted for its extensive flour-milling inter- ests, Rochester now is best known for its pro- duction of photographic apparatus and optical instruments, though the output of these is less in value than that of several other of its many industries. It is widely known also for its ex- tensive nurseries, some fifty establishments being in the city and vicinity. In the census year 1900, capital to the amount of $49,080,000 was invested in the various manufacturing industries. The value of the products was $6'9,130,000, Roches- ter is third in importance among the industrial cities of the State. The leading manufactures are men's clothing, boots and shoes, foundry and machine shop products, tobacco, cigars and cigar- ettes, flouring and grist mill products, malt li- quors, furnitiire, photographic apparatus and materials, and optical goods. There are also in