After a great deal of machinations by various speculators, on April 1,
1788, the entire Massachusetts pre-emptive right over all western New York
Lands -- comprising some 6,000,000 acres (24,000 km²) -- was sold to
Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, both of Massachusetts. The sales price
was $1,000,000, payable in three equal annual installments of certain
Massachusetts securities then worth about 20 cents on the dollar. The
right sold applied to all land west of a line running from the mouth of
Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario, due south through Seneca Lake, to the 82nd
milestone on the Pennsylvania border near Big Flats (the "Pre-emption Line"),
and all the way to the Niagara River and Lake Erie (the "Phelps and Gorham
Purchase"). In order to obtain title to such land, Phelps and Gorham would
have to extinguish all Indian titles.
Phelps and Gorham wasted no time in securing a portion of their purchase.
On July 8, 1788, by the Treaty of Buffalo Creek, they extinguished Indian
title to all land from the Pre-emption Line west to the Genesee River, as
well as to a tract of land west of the Genesee running south from Lake
Ontario approximately 24 miles (39 km) and extending west from the river
approximately 12 miles (19 km), with this western boundary paralleling the
course of the Genesee ("The Mill Yard Tract"). For this extinction of
title, Phelps and Gorham paid the Indians $5,000, plus a $500 annuity. The
area to which title was extinguished comprised some 2,250,000 acres (9,100
km²), or about one-third of the total.
(The pre-emptive rights to remaining lands of the Phelps and Gorham
Purchase west of the Genesee River, comprising some 3,750,000 acres
(15,000 km²), eventually reverted back to Massachusetts due to a failure
to extinguish Indian titles as well as a default in the 1790 payment.
Massachusetts then re-sold those rights to Robert Morris in 1791 for
$333,333,33. In 1792 and 1793, Morris then sold most of the lands west of
the Genesee to the Holland Land Company, but he did not extinguish Indian
title to the land until the Treaty of Big Tree (Geneseo) in September,
1797. Morris reserved for himself about 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) in a 12
mile (19 km) wide strip along the east side of the Holland Purchase, from
the Pennsylvania border to Lake Ontario, known as The Morris Reserve. At
the north end of the Morris Reserve, a 87,000 acre (350 km²) triangular
shaped tract (the "The Triangle Tract") was sold by Morris to Herman Leroy,
William Bayard and John McEvers, while a 100,000 tract due west of the
Triangle Tract was sold to the state of Connecticut. Other Phelps and
Gorham lands east of the Genesee River that had not already been sold were
also acquired by Robert Morris in 1791, who re-sold them to the The
Pulteney Association, which was a syndicate of British investors.)
Shortly after concluding the Treaty of Buffalo Creek, Phelps and Gorham
gave a 100 acre (0.4 km²) lot within the Mill Yard Tract at the Upper
Falls of the Genesee to Ebenezer "Indian" Allen, on condition he build a
grist mill and sawmill there by summer 1789 (the "100 Acre Tract"). In
exchange for the 100 Acre Tract, Allen built the agreed-upon mills at the
west end of the Upper Falls of the Genesee. But the location was so deep
in the wilderness that there were only 14 men in the area to assist in the
mill's construction. The area was a dense forest and swamp, and infested
with rattlesnakes and mosquitoes that spread 'Swamp Fever' or what we now
call malaria.
With no settlers, and no demand for mills, Indian Allen sold the 100 Acre
Tract and mills in March, 1792 to Benjamin Barton, Sr. of New Jersey for
$1,250. Barton almost immediately sold the property to Samuel Ogden, as
Agent for Robert Morris. Ogden, in turn, sold the property in 1794 to
Charles Williamson as Agent for The Pulteney Association. On November 8,
1803, The Pulteney Association sold the 100 Acre Tract for $1,750, on a
five-year land contract, to Col. Nathaniel Rochester(1752-1831), Maj.
Charles Carroll, and Col. William Fitzhugh, all of Hagerstown, Maryland.
Rochesterville and The Flour City
Although Col. Rochester and his two partners purchased the 100 Acre Tract,
they allowed the millsite to lie neglected and development did not begin
in earnest until 1811, when they finally completed paying for their
purchase and received the deed. The population was 15. They had the tract
surveyed and laid out with streets and lots. (The first lot was sold to a
Henry Skinner, at what is now the northwest corner of State and Main.) In
1817, other land owners, mainly the Brown Brothers (of Brown's Race and
Brown's Square), joined their lands north to the 100 Acre Tract, to form
the Village of Rochesterville, with a population of 700.
In 1821, Monroe County was erected out of Ontario and Genesee counties,
and Rochesterville was named the county seat. A two story brick courthouse
in the Greek Revival style was built at a cost of $7,600. In 1823,
property of Elisha Johnson on the east side of the Genesee across from the
100 Acre Tract was annexed, bringing Rochesterville to 1012 acres (4.1 km²)
and the population to about 2,500. That year, "-ville" was dropped from
the city's name. This was also the year that the first 800 foot (244 m)
Erie Canal Aqueduct was finished over the Genesee, just south of the Main
Street Bridge. It was built over 16 months by 30 convicts from Auburn
State Prison. In 1822, the Rochester Female Charitable Society was founded.
Members paid twenty-five cents per year to belong to the Society and also
contributed provisions, clothing, and bedding which they collected from
the community. Visitors distributed the goods and money to the poor of
each district. By 1872, seventy-three districts had been established, each
with a woman visitor. That organization was be instrumental in founding
the Rochester Orphan Asylum (now Hillside Children's Center), the
Rochester City Hospital (now Rochester General Hospital), the first school,
the workhouse, the Home for the Friendless (now The Friendly Home), the
Industrial School, and The Visiting Nurse Service.
Once the Erie Canal east to the Hudson River opened in 1823, the economy
and population growth took off. By 1830, the population reached 9,200, and
the city became the original boomtown first known as "The Young Lion of
the West." It quickly, however, became known as the Flour City, based on
the numerous flour mills which were located along waterfalls on the
Genesee in what is now the Brown's Race area of downtown Rochester. The
first ten days the canal was open east to the Hudson, 40,000 barrels
(3,600 t) of Rochester flour were shipped to Albany and New York City.
Local millers soon were grinding 25,000 bushels of wheat to flour daily.
In 1829, the Rochester Athenaeum was founded as a reading society. The
Athenaeum charged members a five-dollar annual fee to hear lectures by
some of America's best-known orators - including Oliver Wendell Holmes,
Sr., Horace Greeley and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Athenaeum was one of the
forerunners of the Rochester Institute of Technology.
By 1834, some 20 flour mills were producing 500,000 barrels (44,000 t)
annually, the population reached 13,500 and the city area expanded to 4000
acres (16 km²). Rochester was then re-chartered as a city, and Jonathan
Child, son-in-law of Col. Rochester, was elected Mayor. In 1837, the
Rochester Orpham Asylum was founded by the Rochester Female Charitable
Society and was located first on South Sophia Street (now South Plymouth
Avenue) and then on Hubbell Park. The Charitable Association also founded
Rochester City Hospital on Buffalo Street (now West Main Street), where
the old Buffalo Street Cemetery was located. The work began in 1845 but
the hospital was not occupied until 1863. By 1838 Rochester was the
largest flour-producing city in the world.
The Flower City
In 1830, William A. Reynolds started his first seed business at the corner
of Sophia and Buffalo Streets (now Plymouth Avenue South and Main Street
West). This was the start of what would become the Ellwanger & Barry
Nursery Co., which eventually was relocated to Mt. Hope Avenue, across
from Mount Hope Cemetery. James Vick and Joseph Harris also start their
own nursery businesses. The population in 1830 was only 9,207, but it
still ranked as the 25th largest city in the United States. In 1840, the
population and rank were 20,191 and 19th, respectively. In 1842, the
original aqueduct over the Genesee River was replaced with a better one
slightly south of the first one. This latter aqueduct now supports Broad
Street.
By 1850, the population reached 36,003, making Rochester the 21st largest
city in the United States. Westward expansion had moved the focus of
farming to the Great Plains and Rochester's importance as the center for
flour milling had declined. Several seed companies in Rochester had grown
to become the largest in the world, with Ellwanger & Barry Nursery Co. the
largest. Rochester's nickname was changed from the Flour City to the
Flower City. In 1850, the University of Rochester was founded in the U. S.
Hotel on Buffalo St, and affiliated with the Baptist Church. Two four-year
courses were offered. In 1851, due to Rochester and Monroe County's
tremendous growth, a new three-story county courthouse in the Greek
Revival style was constructed. It was built from brick manufactured at
Cobb's Hill by Gideon Cobb, and cost $76,000.
In 1857, Susan B. Anthony and William Lloyd Garrison spoke at an abolition
meeting. In 1847 Frederick Douglass, a former slave who became an
abolitionist leader, commenced publishing a newspaper "The North Star" in
Rochester.
In the years leading up to the Civil War, numerous locations in the
Rochester area were used as safe-houses to shelter fugitive slaves before
they were placed on board boats (often on the Genesee River) for transport
to Canada. The route was part of the famous Underground Railroad. The most
common route used the 'lines' that led from Henrietta through Monroe
County and into Rochester. Some of the better known 'stations' included:
the Henry Quinby farm by Mendon Ponds Park, which today is by the
Fieldstone Smokehouse; the David H. Richardson farm on East Henrietta Road
near Castle Road; the Warrant farm in Brighton, 1956 West Henrietta Road;
the old Frederick Douglass home near Highland Park; a cluster of houses
along Exchange Street where numerous Quakers lived, and now where the War
Memorial Arena sits, and the home of Harvey Humphrey on Genesee Street.
Other 'stations' were located in the areas surrounding Rochester,
including Brighton, Pittsford, Mendon and Webster. A station in North
Chili, just west of Rochester, run by abolitionist Methodists was an
important site in the formation of the Free Methodist Church, which was
formed in 1860. The denomination's first college, Roberts Wesleyan College,
was built on the site.
The period 1860 to 1900 saw Rochester grow from a city of 48,000 to a city
of 162,800, with a 1900 rank of 24th largest in population, down from 18th
in 1860. During this period the city expanded dramatically in area on both
sides of the Genesee River, as well as annexing parts of the towns of
Brighton, Gates, Greece and Irondequoit. Also founded during this period
were Bausch and Lomb by John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb, Eastman Kodak by
George Eastman, Western Union Telegraph by Hiram Sibley and Don Alonzo
Watson, Gleason Works by William Gleason, and R. T. French and Co. by
Robert French. Other important industries that developed during this
period were clothing manufacturing, shoe manufacturing, brewing and
machine tools. In 1875, Rochester's first city hall opened at Fitzhugh and
the Erie Canal (now Broad Street). It was built at a cost of over $335,000
on the site of the First Presbyterian Church, which had burned to the
ground in 1869. The church sold the lot to the city for $25,000. This city
hall housed city government until 1978.
In 1882, the tolls on the Erie Canal ended, with New York State enjoying a
profit of $51,000,000 over the 57 years. In September 1885, a group of
Rochester businessmen founded the Mechanics Institute to establish "free
evening schools in the city for instruction in drawing and such other
branches of studies as are most important for industrial pursuits of great
advantage to our people." Henry Lomb of Bausch & Lomb was the Mechanics
Institute's first president.
During this period many of Rochester's great public parks were laid out,
with Ellwanger & Barry and others donating land in 1871 for Maplewood Park
and in 1889 for Highland Park. In 1895, George Eastman and James P. B.
Duffy donated an additional 120 acres (0.5 km²) for Highland Park. On
Independence Day, 1894, community leaders, responding to the continued
tremendous growth in Rochester and Monroe County, laid the cornerstone for
the third County Courthouse (now the County Office Building). Two years
and $881,000 later, the four-story granite and marble courthouse in the
Italian Renaissance style was complete. In 1897, the first master's
degrees were awarded by the University of Rochester and in 1900, due
largely to the efforts of Susan B. Anthony, women were admitted.
In 1891, the Mechanics Institute merged with the Rochester Athenaeum to
form the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (RAMI). Comprehensive
instruction in mechanical subjects was RAMI's hallmark. The Institute's
builders responded to both industrial and societal trends in Rochester,
and each year the Institute graduated increasing numbers of expertly
trained professionals who found work in industry both in Rochester and
elsewhere.
Rochester In The 20th Century
The turn of the century found Rochester a thriving and comfortable city.
Although the nursery business was waning, some of that land had been
converted into desirable residential districts along East Avenue, Park
Avenue, and off Mount Hope Avenue near Highland Park. In 1901, a
devastating fire killed 31 at the Rochester Orphan Asylum, and it moved
across town from Hubbell Park to Pinnacle Hill.
In 1904, R. T. French sent prepared mustard to the St. Louis World's Fair,
where it was paired with another innovation -- the hot dog -- and became a
hit. In the early 1900s, both George Eastman and Andrew Carnegie gave
substantial sums to the University of Rochester. In 1908, Francis Baker
donated 120 acres (0.5 km²) for Genesee Valley Park, and Durand-Eastman
Park opens, a gift of Henry Durand and George Eastman.
In 1913, the Memorial Art Gallery on the University of Rochester's Prince
Street Campus was founded. It was the gift of Emily Sibley Watson as a
memorial to her son, architect James Averell. In 1918, the Erie Canal
through Rochester was closed and abandoned after the Barge Canal opened,
transiting Rochester through Genesee Valley Park. The Court Street Dam was
also built in 1918 to raise the level of the river to that of the Barge
Canal so no aqueduct or locks are necessary, but in so doing the Upper
Falls and the Castelton Rapids were obliterated.
By 1920, Rochester's population had reached 290,720, and it ranked 23rd
largest in the United States. That year, the city purchased the abandoned
Erie Canal lands inside city limits for use as a heavy rail mass transit
and freight system. In 1921, the first Lilac Week occurred, celebrating
Rochester's floral legacy in Highland Park. In 1922, Rochester's first
radio station began broadcasting, and the Eastman Theatre opened, an
adjunct to the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. In
1925, George Eastman arranged a land swap with Oak Hill Country Club. The
Oak Hill property, just west of Mt. Hope Cemetery on the east side of the
Genesee River was given to the University of Rochester for its River
Campus, and the country club moved to its present site in Pittsford. In
1925, the University opened its Medical School and Strong Memorial
Hospital on Crittenden Road, and by 1927, general construction had begun
on the River Campus. It was also in 1925 that the University awarded its
first Ph.D., and by 1930, several departments were training candidates for
the doctorate. In 1928, Red Wing Stadium opened. That year, the Rochester
Democrat and Chronicle, the morning newspaper, was purchased by Frank
Gannett.
By 1930, the population had swelled to 328,132, making Rochester the 22nd
largest city in the United States. The University of Rochester opened its
River Campus for men, and the Prince Street Campus became the Women's
Campus. The Rochester Municipal Airport opened on Scottsville Road. It was
in the 1930s that Eastman Kodak introduced Kodrachrome film. By now the
subway was constructed in the old canal bed, and the street railways were
diverted to the subway or morphed into buses. Rochester celebrated its
centennial as a city in 1934. In 1936, the Rundel Memorial Building opened
as the headquarters of the Rochester Public Library above the bed of the
old Erie Canal, adjacent to South Avenue, between Broad Street and Court
Street.
By 1940, the population had decreased to 324,975, the first drop since
Rochester was founded. It was still the 23rd largest city in the United
States. With the advent of World War II, some 29,000 Rochester-area men
were drafted into military service. Cobbs Hill Park was used as Prisoner
of War camp. The first POWs arrived in September 1943. Sixty Italian
prisoners worked on area farms and food processing plants 10 hours a day,
6 days a week, at $.80 per day. The city was hit in February 1945 with
seven successive snowstorms that paralyzed the city, forcing the city to
ask that POWs be brought from the Hamlin Camp to the city. Cobbs Hill Park
housed 100 Germans, while 175 more were at Edgerton Park. Snow removal by
prisoners was done at unannounced locations, with city police keeping
locals away.
Because of the highly skilled labor force Rochester enjoyed, the city
became a significant industrial contributor to the World War II effort,
while the farms and fields surrounding Rochester provided food for the
troops as well as the home front. To recognize specialized professional
nature of its programs, in 1944, the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics
Institute changed its name to The Rochester Institute of Technology.
By 1950, the population of the city had increased to 332,488, but
Rochester was still the 32nd largest city in the United States. During the
1950s, Xerox Corporation (originally Haloid Corporation) expanded as it
exploited Chester Carlson's xerography patents. Xerox went on to become
the world leader in xerographic imaging, designing and manufacturing many
of its famous products in the Rochester area. Eastman Kodak continued to
dominate the film and camera industry and was Rochester's leading
industrial employer, but other Rochester companies also employed many,
including Gleason Works, Stromberg-Carlson, Taylor Instrument, Ritter
Dental Equipment, Delco Rochester division of General Motors and
Pfaudler-Permutit. In 1955, the Colleges for Men and Women of the
University of Rochester were merged. In 1958, three new schools were
created in engineering, business administration, and education.
By the 1960s, as with the rest of the United States, the population was
shifting from city to suburb, with substantial growth in the towns
immediately adjacent to the city, including Greece, Gates, Chili,
Henrietta, Brighton and Irondequoit. The 1960 census showed a population
drop to 318,611 and a drop in rank to 38th. In 1964, foreshadowing the
turbulent later years of the 60s, Rochester suffered a race riot. It was
also in the 1960s that the city undertook substantial urban renewal, with
the construction of Midtown Plaza Mall, the first indoor shopping mall in
a traditional downtown area in the United States. In 1966, the National
Technical Institute for the Deaf was added to the Rochester Institute of
Technology, and, when the New York State Department of Public Works
decided it would build the Inner Loop expressway through the downtown RIT
campus, the decision was made to build a new campus in the suburbs. In
1968, RIT moved to a 1,300 acre (5.3 km²) campus in suburban Henrietta.
As part of continuing urban renewal, in 1969, Xerox Corporation opened a
30 story office tower at Broad Street East and Clinton Avenue South,
although they also moved its corporate headquarters to Stamford,
Connecticut at about the same time. Lincoln Rochester Trust Company (now
Chase Bank) opened a 28 story office tower at Clinton Avenue South and
East Main Street. Later in the 70s, new offices and hotels were
constructed along State Street just north of Main Street, obliterating in
the process most of Front Street and part of Corinthian Street. At Main
Street and the Genesee River, a new hotel was opened as was one at South
Avenue and Main Street. In 1978, city hall moved to the old Federal
Building at State and Church.
In the 1990s, a new baseball stadium, Frontier Field, was built for the
Rochester Red Wings on State Street near the Kodak office building. Bausch
and Lomb constructed a new world headquarters just south of Main Street
straddling Stone Street and a new Central Library to replace the Rundel
Memorial Building was erected across from the Rundel Building on South
Avenue.
Education, Culture and Recreation
Rochester is home to a number of colleges and universities, including the
University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Saint John
Fisher College, Roberts Wesleyan College, Nazareth College, and the
Eastman School of Music. Rochester is also home to a number of cultural
institutions including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the George
Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, the Memorial
Art Gallery, the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Strong Museum,
and the Strasenburg Planetarium.
The city's Victorian era Mt. Hope Cemetery includes the final resting
place of several famous Americans, including Susan B. Anthony and
Frederick Douglass (see List of Rochesterians). Rochester is also known
for its extensive park system, including Highland Park, Cobb's Hill Park,
Durand-Eastman Park, Genesee Valley Park, Maplewood Park, Edgerton Park,
Seneca Park and Ontario Beach Park. The city also has 13 full-time
recreation centers, 19 swimming programs, 3 artificial ice rinks, 66
softball/baseball fields, 47 tennis courts, 5 football fields, 7 soccer
fields, and 43 outdoor basketball courts. Echoing its famous history as
the Flower City, Rochester still has a yearly lilac festival for ten days
in May, when nearly 400 named varieties of lilacs bloom, and 100,000
visitors arrive from as far away as Europe and Japan.
South of Rochester is the scenic Letchworth State Park with its
spectacular canyon and waterfalls. Also to the south and southeast is the
glacially-formed Finger Lakes Region, with its numerous lakes and summer
cottages.
Rochester has developed a number of "festivals" that celebrate the many
aspects of Rochester life. These include the Rochester International Jazz
Festival, now (2004) in its third year; the Corn Hill Festival (arts,
crafts, and food in this historic Third Ward neighborhood); the High Falls
Film Festival (held at the George Eastman House?s Dryden Theatre and the
Little Theatre downtown); the Image Out/Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (also
held at the Little Theatre); the Clothesline Art Festival (artists from
the region display their works on the grounds of the Memorial Art
Gallery); the Park Avenue Merchants Festival; the Lilac Festival at
Highland Park (world famous for its lilac bushes); the Rochester Music
Festival; and the Cold Rush Winter Celebration (celebrating the wide
variety of winter sports in the Rochester area). There is something for
everyone in these festivals.
Commerce and Industry
The city is also host to a number of international businesses, including
Eastman Kodak and Bausch and Lomb, which make Rochester their world
headquarters, as well as Xerox, while not headquartered in Rochester, has
its principal offices and manufacturing in the Rochester area. Rochester
is also home to regional businesses such as Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.,
Paychex, Inc., Roberts Communications, Inc. and National Dairy Holdings
LP's Helluva Good Cheese division.
Geography
Rochester is located at 43°9'56" North, 77°36'41" West (43.165496,
-77.611504)1. Rochester is east of Buffalo and west of Syracuse.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
96.1 km2 (37.1 mi2). 92.8 km2; (35.8 mi2) of it is land and 3.3 km2; (1.3
mi2) of it is water. The total area is 3.42% water.
Rochester's scenic geography comes from the glaciers during the Cenozoic
era. The retreating glaciers created the Genesee Valley and left rolling
hills (drumlin fields) around it, including (from west to east) Mt. Hope,
the rolling hills of Highland Park, Pinnacle Hill and Cobb's Hill. These
glaciers also left behind Lake Ontario (one of the five fresh-water Great
Lakes), the Genesee River with its waterfalls and gorges, Irondequoit,
Sodus and Braddock's Bays, numerous local streams and ponds, the Ridge,
and the nearby Finger Lakes.
Transportation
Rochester is served by the Greater Rochester International Airport. Daily
scheduled air service is provided by Air Canada, AirTran,
AmericanAirlines, Continental, Delta, jetBlue, Northwest, United, and U.S.
Airways. Both Amtrak (passenger) and Conrail (freight) provide rail
service to Rochester. Rochester has interurban and transcontinental bus
service via by Greyhound and Trailways. There are three exits off the New
York State Thruway (Interstate Route 90) that serve Rochester. Rochester
has an extensive freeway (expressway) system which connects all parts of
the city and the city with the Thruway. There is marine freight service at
the Port of Rochester on Lake Ontario, and Lake Ontario is connected to
the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway.
A ferry service across Lake Ontario linking Rochester to Toronto, Ontario
commenced service on June 17, 2004. The ferry had its first sold-out trip
from Toronto to Rochester on Canada Day, July 1, 2004 despite many
skeptics claiming this would never happen. However, on September 7, 2004,
The Breeze abruptly suspended service for financial reasons, possibly
until April.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 219,773 people, 88,999 households, and
47,169 families residing in the city. The population density is
2,368.3/km² (6,132.9/mi²). There are 99,789 housing units at an average
density of 1,075.3/km² (2,784.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is
48.30% White, 38.55% African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.25% Asian,
0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.58% from other races, and 3.81% from two or more
races. 12.75% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 88,999 households out of which 30.0% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 25.1% are married couples living together, 23.3%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.0% are
non-families. 37.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.2%
have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average
household size is 2.36 and the average family size is 3.19.
In the city the population is spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18,
11.6% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0%
who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every
100 females there are 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over,
there are 87.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $27,123, and the median
income for a family is $31,257. Males have a median income of $30,521
versus $25,139 for females. The per capita income for the city is $15,588.
25.9% of the population and 23.4% of families are below the poverty line.
Out of the total people living in poverty, 37.5% are under the age of 18
and 15.4% are 65 or older.
According to the City of Rochester, the city presently has 537 miles (864
km) of public streets, 585 miles (941 km) of water mains, 44 vehicular and
8 pedestrian bridges, 11 public libraries, 7 police stations, and 16 fire
stations. The principal source of the city's water is Hemlock Lake, which,
with its watershed, is wholly owned by the city. Other water sources are
Canadice Lake and Lake Ontario. The 30 year annual average snowfall is
95.0 inches (2.4 m) The mean July temperature 71.3 �F (21.8 �C), and
the mean February temperature is 23.6 �F (-4.7 �C)
Sports
Rochester has five professional sports teams: the Rochester Red Wings
(International League) baseball club, Rochester Americans (AHL) hockey
club, and Rochester Raging Rhinos soccer club. All these franchises are
minor league level teams. There are also two professional lacrosse teams
in Rochester. The Rochester Knighthawks club plays box lacrosse in the
National Lacrosse League during the winter/spring seasons. Meanwhile,
during the summer, the Rochester Rattlers club plays field lacrosse in the
Major League Lacrosse organization.
