July 30

July 30, 1889: The street car route from Rochester to Charlotte is operated by electricity for the first time.

Sources and Further Reading:

• History of Rochester and Monroe County (1908), Peck William F., pg 75

July 27

July 27,  1898: Free public baths are opened at the old Home of Industry on South Ave.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. History of Rochester and Monroe County (1908), Peck William F., pg 116

July 25

July 25, 1837: Daniel Webster, senator from Massachusetts and former constitutional lawyer, gives a speech about the state of the economy in front of a gathering of the Whig party at the Rochester Courthouse. The speech inspires a group of Penfield farmers to petition the state for separate town status and the town of Webster was formed almost three years later in 1840, named in his honor.

Webster was opposed to Andrew Jackson's economic policies and had unsuccessfully sought the Whig party nomination for President in 1836 and would try again in 1839. He also suffered personal financial losses during the financial crisis of 1837, accumulating debt on farm land speculation.

Source and Further Reading:

1. Official Town of Webster website: History

July 25, 1984: Unmarked mass graves containing over 700 bodies are found at the site of the former Monroe County Almshouse for the poor and mental ill, currently at Highland Park. The site is believed to have been in use from 1826 to 1863.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Poorhouse History by County: Monroe
2. Rootsweb: Cemeteries of Monroe Co., NY
3. Democrat and Chronicle: May 20, 2009

July 24

July 24, 1964: The Rochester Race Riot begins on a Friday evening in the 7th ward following an arrest by the Rochester Police Department at a block party. The riot lasted through Saturday and into Sunday when the New York National Guard was called in by Governor Rockefeller. The riot resulted in 4 deaths, 350 injuries, and over 1000 arrests.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. pbs.org; Independent Lens; July64 Rochester Riot Time Line"
2. Wikipedia: Rochester 1964 race riot
3. YouTube, "July 64 vintage footage (silent)"

July 21

July 21, 1969: Many area offices, including those of Xerox corporation, closed for the day to allow their employees time to recuperate after staying up until 10:56 pm the previous evening to watch the Apollo lunar landing on television.

Sources and further reading:

1. Democrat and Chronicle: July 20, 2009; "Apollo 11 mission to moon captivated Rochester"; Bob Marcotte

(Image Source: NASA)

July 15

July 15, 1863: Hundreds of Catholics and Protestants mourn together at the funeral of Col. Patrick O'Rorke, a popular local war hero who died at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Rochester History (1991), vol 53, no 2, pg 4
2. Wikipedia - Patrick O'Rorke
3. Annual report of the State Historian, Volume 1 By New York (State). State Historian (1897) (Source of Photo)

July 8

July 8, 1788: Oliver Phelps convinces the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy to sell title to their lands in New York east of the Genesee River plus the Mill Yard Tract, a section of land on the west side of the Genesee extending approximately 12 miles west of the river and 24 miles south from Lake Ontario.

Sources and Further Reading:

• History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 23
• Wikipedia: Phelps and Gorham Purchase
• Wikipedia: The Mill Yard Tract

July 5

July 5, 1852: On the 25th anniversary of New York State's abolition of slavery, Frederick Douglass delivers his famous "Fifth of July" speech in Rochester's Corinthian Hall, declaring; "This Fourth of July is yours not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn."

 

 

 

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Rochester History (2005), vol 67, no 4, pg 10
2. pbs.com; Africans in America, Resource Bank, 'The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro'

July 4

July 4, 1817: Settlers from both sides of the river gather for a feast and to celebrate Independence Day with twenty blasts of ordinance.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Rochester History (1942); vol 4, no 1, pages 10-12

July 2

July 2, 1963: Mohawk Airlines flight 112, attempting to take off from Rochester Monroe County Airport into a severe thunderstorm, veers out of control and crashes, killing 7 and injuring 36 people on board.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Aviation Safety Network
2. Wikipedia: Mohawk Airlines Flight 121
3. Joan S. NEFF, Administratrix of the Estate of John W. Neff