The Oldest in Rochester

• The oldest cemetery in Rochester: King's Landing (1798) also called Hanford's Landing Cemetery is a pioneer cemetery on the west bank of the Genesee river where early settlers succumbed to "Genesee fever". It predates the older Rapids Cemetery (c 1810-12) and Mount Hope Cemetery (1838) [2][3][4][5] (maps)

• The oldest church in Rochester:  St. Luke's church (1824) replaced a smaller wooden building (1820) used by the early citizens of Rochesterville.  It is also presently listed at the oldest public building on Rochester. [6][7] (maps)

• The oldest house in Rochester: Stone-Tolan house (1792).  Home of Orringh and Elizabeth Stone located in what is now East Avenue. [1] (maps)

References and Further Reading

1. Landmark Society of Western NY

2. Wikipedia: King's Landing Cemetery

3. https://mcnygenealogy.com/cem/hanford.htm

4. Talker of the Town, "Rapids Cemetery: A National Landmark Sinking in Time" (2016 Aug 09), Kramer, David

5. Rochistory (Wordpress) "The Rapids: A History of Castletown" (2017), Brennan, Christopher

6. "Historical Churches (Self Guided), Rochester", GPSMyCity 

7. ROCWiki: St. Luke's Church 

1862 City of Rochester Nuisances Code

On November 11, 1862 the city council passed the following penal code related to nuisances within the city.  Some of the more critical ones relating to gongs, kites, bowling and ducks include:

Section 1: No person shall sound any gong in the street, or any alley, upon any side-walk, or upon any piazza, balcony steps or platform, adjoining any sidewalk or street in the city of Rochester, under a penalty of TEN DOLLARS for each offense.

Section 7: No person shall fly a kite within the said city under a penalty of TWO DOLLARS for each offense.

Section 11: It shall be lawful for any person to bathe or swim in the Genesee river, or in the Erie or Genesee Valley canals within the city of Rochester, provided such persons wear tights, pants or shirts.

Section 13: No person keeping an alley commonly called a nine-pin alley, bowling alley or billiard table, within the city shall, permit any game to be played thereon after ten o'clock in the evening, or before eight o'clock in the morning ; nor shall any such person suffer or permit any minor or apprentice to play at said alley or table at any time whatever, under penalty of FIVE DOLLARS for each offense.

Section 21: No owner or possessor of any goose or geese, ducks, or other fowls, shall suffer any such fowl to run or to be at large in any of the public streets, lanes, alleys, or squares within said city, under a penalty of TWENTY-FIVE CENTS for each fowl, etc., so running or being at large.

Section 29: No person shall, under the penalty of FIFTY DOLLARS for each offense, empty or deposit the contents of any tub or receptacle out of any privy, vault or cess pool into any street, alley, canal or public square, or into the river, except at places designated therefor by the Mayor or board of health.

The full code:

Source:



• The Rochester Directory (1887), Volume 28, pg 495

Related:

• 1887 Ads from the Rochester Directory

1887 Ads from the Rochester Directory

A Collection of Ads in 19th Century Rochester

Ice Companies - fresh from the Genesee River...

 

 The ice may not be very good below the falls, but it's a great place for picnics and bowling...

The Glen House was another popular destination along the river.

 Reduced Priced Arms and Legs above the Reynolds Arcade...

After the civil war, while J.J. Bausch was building his new business with his partner Henry Lomb, first Bausch and Lomb, Opticians and by 1866 renamed the Vulcanite Optical Instrument Company - he sold his retail shop at Reynold Arcade to his little brother E.E. Baucsh who partnered whith Thomas Drainsfield.

Henry Strong was always on the lookout for the next great invention, first investing in E. F. Whoodbury's new buggy whip handle prior to helping young George Eastman launch his Dry Plate photography company in 1881.

John G. and Elizabeth Zweigle had been operating a sausage manufacturing business on Front Street since at least 1867.  Carl Wilhelm and Josehpine Zweigle's butcher shop on Joseph Avenue is credited as the founder of the current Zweigle's Sausage Company and was opened in 1880 - although no such buthcher appears in this 1887 directory.
 

 

Rochester offered a wide Selection of Lager Beer...

Becker Lager Beer 

Bartholomay Brewing 

Sources:

1. The Rochester Directory (1887), Volume 28
2. Shilling, Donovan A (2011), A Photographic History of Bausch & Lomb, pg 16 

      Zweigles

1. Zweigles History - Zweigles.com 
2. Record of the Proceedings of the Common Council of the City of Rochester (1911), pg 262
3. The New York State Business Directory and Gazetteer (1867),pg 745

       Henry Strong

1. Linsday, David (2000), Henry Strong, Wizards of Photography, PBS.org
2. US Patent 60606, Improvement in Whips, Edmund F. Woodbury, December 18, 1866 
3. STRONG ET AL. V. NOBLE ET AL. Circuit Court, S. D. New York. June 22, 1869 

See Also

• 1862 City of Rochester Nuisances Code

April 18

April 18,1981

The Rochester Redwings played in the longest game in professional baseball history at 33 innings against the Pawtucket Red Socks in Pawtucket. The game was suspended at 3:00 a.m. with the score standing at 2-2 after 32 innings. It was resumed on June 23 where, after one more inning, Pawtucket won in the bottom of the 33rd. In the game, future hall of famer Cal Ripken Jr. played for the Redwings against Wade Boggs for Pawtucket.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. baseball-reference.com
2. Wikipedia: Longest professional baseball game

February 20

February 20, 1895: Frederick Douglas died in his home in Washington D.C. at the age of 78.  He had been participating that day in a meeting of the Women's National Council and was scheduled to speak later that evening at the nearby Hillside African Church.

(from the New York Times, Feb 21, 1895)

Sources and Further Reading:

• Obituary- Death of Fred Douglas, New York Times.  February 21, 1895, pp. 1&3

February 26

February 26, 1904: "Rochester's Greatest Fire" Starting before morning in a fuse of an elevator at the Rochester Dry Goods on East Main Street, a fire sweeps through nearly 2 acres of the city. Request for help in battling the blaze was made to Buffalo which sent 26 firemen and Syracuse which sent 30 firemen. The total damage was estimated at over $3 million.

Sources and Further Reading:

• Peck, William Farley, "History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York", Vol. 1, pp 162-4 (1908)

Rochester's Worst Winters Storms

Rochester ranks among the top U.S. cities with the most annual snowfall at 92.3 inches, just below our neighbors Syracuse (#1 at 115.6 inches) and Buffalo (93.6 inches).   Rochester's official weather station was established in 1870, but the early settlers recorded several large storms in diaries for decades before that. Below are a list of the worst winter storms in Rochester History. 

Snow Storms (Post-1870)

1. Feb. 28-March 2, 1900: 43.5 inches

2. Feb. 27-March 3, 1984: 32.7 inches

3. Jan. 29 - Feb. 2, 1966: 28.8 inches

4. Feb. 5-7, 1978: 25.8 inches

5. Dec. 8-11, 1981: 25.4 inches

Snow Storms (Pre-1870)

• Jan. 26-27,1839: 2.5-3.0 feet (diary of Edwin Scrantom)
• Feb. 15, 1837: 2.5 feet (diary of Edwin Scrantom)
• Feb. 2-7, 1845: 30 inches
• Feb. 4-6, 1854: 30 inches

Top Snowfall in a Season: 1959-60 with 161.7 inches

Ice Storms

• March 3-4, 1991: 1.5 inches of Freezing Rain, over 135,000 Rochester Area homes without power.

• January 3-5. 1913: Over 1.1 inches of frozen rain.

•  April 4-5, 2003: About 100,00 homes lost power.

 Other

•  Coldest Day: -22 F on February 9, 1934 (the prior day, February 8 also holds a record for that day at -16 F)

References and Further Reading:

1. "Top 101 cities with the highest snowfall in year", city-data.com
2. Golden Snowball Award 
3. Rochester History, vol. XXVII, issue , January 1965
4. "Rochester Historic Snowfalls", Democrat and Chronicle, March 12, 2014
5. "Storm Up State Continues", New York Times, March 3, 1900
6. "An Ice Storm Paralyzes Western and Northern New York", New York Times (March 5, 1991)  
7. Ice Storm of 2003 Left Many Devastated, Democrat and Chronicle, April 5, 2013
8. "A Meteorological of Ice Storm Impact Variables in the Rochester, N.Y. Area Including a Probability Analysis of Freezing Precipitation Return Periods for Significant Ice Storms", Mroz, Paul J., WOKR Weather Services, August 20, 1991
9. NOAA Weather Records for Rochester, NY

Thanksgiving Season Food Conservation and Recycling during WWI

1918: Rochester was doing it share to help support the troops during WWI during the Thanksgiving season.  This included recycling fruit pits and nut shells for their carbon for use in gas masks.  The U.S. Food administration also encouraged citizens to eat less on Thanksgiving to conserve food for the troops.

 Sources:

1.  Simmon's Spice Mill Vol. XLI, No. 1, pp 1353 (1918)

November 24

November 24, 1883: Rochesterians, including reporter and amateur astronomer Henry C. Maine, observe the "Red Light" or "Red Sunsets" that have been filling the skies all Autumn.  There is much speculation about the meteorological or astronomical cause of the strange red and oranges glows in the sky that persist after sunset.  The red skies continued for more than two years through 1884 and into the fall of 1885.  Theories about the cause included sunspots and solar disturbances, comets, hurricanes and cyclones, and great lake storms.  The true cause was the August 1883 eruption of  Krakatoa in the Indian Ocean which spewed ash and sulfur dioxide into atmosphere causing global climate changes through 1888.

Sources:

1.  History and work of the Warner observatory, Rochester, N.Y. 1883-1886, Volume 1, pp 53-70 (1887)  (source of images)
2. Wikipedia: 1883 eruption of Krakatoa
3. Rochester History,v9, issue 1 (1947) 

NAVIGATE DAY IN HISTORY
>> NEXT EVENT:  Dec 2 First Rochester Baby
<< PREVIOUS EVENT: Nov 23 Mechanic's Institute holds its first class
 

List of U.S. Presidents to Visit Rochester

List of U.S. Presidents to Visit Rochester, N.Y.

Visits of sitting presidents and president-elects:

February 18, 1861: President Abraham Lincoln (16) stops to make some brief remarks in Rochester during his inaugural train trip to Washington, D.C. [1], [2]

May 30, 1892: President Benjamin Harrison (23), New York Governor Roswell Flower, and Frederick Douglas give speeches at the dedication of the Soldiers' Monument commemorating civil war veterans in Washington Park, accompanied by a parade of 10,000 people.  The monument includes bronze statues of infantry, cavalry, marine, and artillery soldiers with a central figure of Abraham Lincoln. [9]

August 23, 1911: President William Howard Taft (27), starting what be a two month tour, Taft attends the 45th annual Grand Army of the Republic encampment in Rochester. [30], [31], [32], [33]

October 17, 1936: Franklin D. Roosevelt (32) addresses Rochester area citizens. It was raining. [14]

May 2, 1940: Franklin D. Roosevelt (32) returns to Rochester.  It rained again. [15]

October 8, 1948: Harry S. Truman (33) visits Rochester. [16]

May 17, 1963: Dwight Eisenhower gives a keynote speech at the Eastman Theatre. [37]

October 15, 1964: Lyndon B. Johnson (36) attends a political rally in Rochester. [17]

June 18, 1971: Richard Nixon (37) discusses taxes, Vietnam, drugs, and race relations in Rochester. [18]

October 31, 1977: Gerald Ford (38) visits Rochester. [19]

October 29, 1980: Jimmy Carter (39) attends a political rally in Rochester. [20]

November 1, 1984: Ronald Regan (40) attends a political rally in Rochester. [21],[35]

May 18, 1989: President George H. W. Bush (41) addresses local teachers at the Wilson Magnet High School and business leaders at Kodak on the issue of education. [10], [11], [12]

May 24, 2005:  President George W. Bush (43) talks about social security in Greece, N.Y. [13]

March 14, 2006: President George W. Bush (43) again visits Rochester, meets local autistic basketball hero Jason McElwain and gives a speech at Canandaigua High School. [7], [8]

August 22, 2013: President Barack Obama (44) stops for lunch in Rochester on Park Avenue while on a bus tour traveling between Buffalo and Syracuse.

Visits of presidents prior or subsequent to holding office:

July 27 - 28, 1843: Former president John Quincy Adams, at the time serving as a congressman from Massachusetts, spends the evening in Rochester dining at the Eagle hotel and touring Mount Hope Cemetery. [22]

June 10, 1884: New York Governor Grover Cleveland gives a speech at Rochester's Semi-centennial celebration.  He would go on to win the presidential election that November. 

 

June 13, 1900: New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt gives a speech at the University of Rochester's semi-centennial. [37]

1920: Franklin D. Roosevelt visits Rochester in conjunction with the League of Nations Field Day.

October 19, 1932: Presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt visits Rochester to support the candidacy of Lieutenant Governor Lehman.

October 1,1959: Senator John F. Kennedy gives a speach at the University of Rochester on -Soviet relations. He also spoke at the Temple B’rith Kodesh Temple Club on the state of Israel.  [25], [27], [37]

September 28, 1960: Senator John F. Kennedy gives a speech at the Rochester War Memorial. [26] 

November 1, 1960: A week before the election, Vice President Richard Nixon delivers a speech at the Rochester War Memorial Auditorium during his unsuccessful first campaign for the Presidency against John F. Kennedy.  [3]

1966: Richard Nixon gives the commencement speech at the University of Rochester [37]

October 14, 1976: Candidate Jimmy Carter makes a campaign stop in Rochester. [28]

October 17, 1983: Jimmy Carter gives a lecture at the University of Rochester titled, “Striving for a Just Society." [37]

February 1988: Senator Joe Biden, after recently bowing out as candidate for the democratic presidential primary, gives a speech at the University of Rochester.  Later that night, he would develop a headache that would shortly after be diagnosed as a life threatening aneurysm. He would not return to work in Congress for six months while he recovered. [36],[37],[38]

May 23, 1997: George H. W. Bush gives the commencement speech at the Rochester Institute if Technology. [34]

October 20, 2011: Former President Bill Clinton gives a speech at the University of Rochester Meliora Weekend. [4],[5],[37]

October 19, 2012: Former President Bill Clinton returns to Rochester to attend a political rally at the Riverside Convention Center. [6]

July 27, 2015: Vice President Joseph Biden and NY governor Andrew Cuomo hold a press conference in Greece, NY announcing that Rochester has been selected for the site of the headquarters for the new American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics. [39], [40], [41]

April 10, 2016: Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in a hanger at the Monroe County Airport. [29]

References

[1] Rochester History (July 1940) v. 2, n. 3, pg 4
[2] Rochester History (July 1943) v. 5, n. 3, pg 17-18
[3] The American Presidency Project: Richard Nixon, University of California, Santa Barbara
[4] http://rochester.ynn.com/content/all_news/561216/bill-clinton-speaks-at-u-of-r-s-meliora-weekend/
[5] http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=3767
[6] http://www.whec.com/news/stories/s2801765.shtml
[7] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5280947
[8] http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/preps/basketball/2006-03-14-bush-autistic_x.htm
[9] History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 108
[10] Rochester History (Fall 1989) v. 51, n. 4, pg 13
[11] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=17041
[12] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=17043
[13] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=64547&st=Rochester&st1=
[14] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15196&st=Rochester&st1=
[15] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=15891&st=Rochester&st1=
[16] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=13037&st=Rochester&st1=
[17] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26605&st=Rochester&st1=
[18] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3049&st=Rochester&st1=
[19] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=6574&st=Rochester&st1=
[20] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=45388&st=Rochester&st1=
[21] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39364&st=Rochester&st1=
[22] The Memoirs of John Quincy Adams: comprising portions of his diary. Volume 11, pg 397 
[23] http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/FullRecord?databaseID=716&record=64&controlNumber=11844
[24] http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/FullRecord?databaseID=716&record=85&controlNumber=4465
[25] http://www.rochester.edu/news/kennedy-in-rochester/
[26] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Rochester-NY_19600928.aspx
[27] http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKCAMP1960-1030-006.aspx
[28] https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0204/1512087.pdf (pg47)
[29] Democrat and Chronicle, April 11, 2016 http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2016/04/10/donald-trump-rally-rochester-jobs/82872624/
[30] New York Times, "Taft Back Home, Then Away Again", November 02, 1911
[31] Library of Congress, The Grand Army of the Republic and Kindred Societies - National Encampments: Bibliography
[32] Library of Congress, President Taft at G.A.R. convention, Rochester, New York (photo)
[33] ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT TAFT TO THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC AT CONVENTION HALL ROCHESTER NY AUGUST 23 1911
[34] From the archives: George H.W. Bush addresses RIT Class of 1997
[35] Ronald Regan Youtube Library, 
President Reagan's Remarks at a Reagan-Bush Rally in Rochester, New York on November 1, 1984 

[36] Flegenheimer, Matt "THE LONG RUN: Biden’s First Run for President Was a Calamity. Some Missteps Still Resonate." (June 3, 2019) New York Times

[37] "Ask the archivist: Was that a US president on the Quad?" (November 12, 2020) University of Rochester

[38] Newman, Meredith "What Joe Biden learned from his life-threatening brain aneurysms" (August 14, 2020) Deleware News Journal

[39] "Vice President Biden, Governor Cuomo announce that Rochester will be headquarters for nation’s newest manufacturing innovation hub." (July 27, 2015) University of Rochester 

[40] "Governor Cuomo and Vice President Biden Announce the AIM Photonics Headquarters in Rochester", YouTube, University of Rochester

[41] "FACT SHEET: Vice President Biden Announces New Integrated Photonics Manufacturing Innovation Hub in Rochester, New York", White House Office of the Vice President, Archives.gov

August 14

August 14, 1884: The body of Lt. Kislingbury, second in command of the Greely Arctic Expedition, is exhumed from Mount Hope Cemetery to investigate allegations of cannibalism. Kislingbury had been laid in state at Rochester City Hall four days earlier. Inspection of the body revealed that flesh had been stripped from the bone, confirming the rumors.

Sources and Further Reading

• New York Times, August 15, 1884, "The Second in Command Lieut. Kislingbury's Mutilated Body Disinterred")
• History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 109
• Wikipedia: Lady and Franklin Bay Expedition
• Wikipedia: Adolphus Greely

August 10

August 10, 1889: The westbound Thousand Island Fast Express train on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad (ʺHojackʺ line) collides with a stopped morning commuter train at the Forest Lawn station in Webster, killing two and injuring nine of the passengers and crew.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. FATAL RAILROAD ACCIDENT; TWO LIVES LOST NEAR THE CITY OF ROCHESTER, New York Times, Aug 11 1889
2.  TO PREVENT RAILROAD ACCIDENTS, New York Times, Oct. 2 1889
3. The Hojack Line Story, Batzing, Dick, Friends of Webster Trails

• Webster Hojack Trail - Trail Map

August 6

August 6, 1975: The Town Affiliation Association begins its three day conference celebrating Rochester's 18 year relation with our six sister cities.  Foreign delegations from 17 nations including all of the sister cities attend. During the conference, a dedication ceremony is held for the Sister Cities Bridge pedestrian walkway across the Genesee River by High Falls.

Sources and Further Information

• Rochester History (1981), vol 43, no 4, pg 7

July 19

July 19,1878: The National Woman Suffrage Association holds its convention in Rochester, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Seneca Falls convention.

Sources and Further Reading:

http://www.winningthevote.org/APost.html

May 6

May 6, 1894: In an attempt to prevent the spread of tuberculosis and other diseases, the North Presbyterian church become the first to adopt the use of individual communion cups. The practice soon caught on in other parts of the country.

Sources and Further Reading

• History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 107

March 13

March 13, 1906: Susan B. Anthony died in her home on Madison St. at the age of 86.  She is buried at Mount hope Cemetery. It would be 14 more years before the 14th amendment to the Constitution was ratified, preventing any citizen, regardless of sex, from being denied the right to vote.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. Wikipedia: Susan B. Anthony

November 12

November 12, 1867: Edward Payson Weston, the famous pedestrian, passes through Rochester on his 26 day, 1200 mile walk from Portland, Maine to Chicago, Illinois. Along the way, Weston was known to give lectures on the health benefits of walking to spectators. He was awarded a $10,000 prize for his achievement. He repeated the feat again in 1907, at age 68, finishing ahead of his original time.

Sources and Further Reading:

1. History of Rochester and Monroe County, New York (1908); Peck, William F.; page 108
2. Wikipedia: Edward Payson Weston

November 9

November 9, 1848: The Fox Sisters conducted a public seance at Rochester's Corinthian Hall, using their "rapping" technique. The sisters began their careers as mediums in their Wayne County home, convincing their neighbors that the house was haunted. Moving to Rochester, the girls refined their technique using a 'cracking' of their toe joints to make on-demand noises from the spirits. They began giving performances to larger public audiences and attracting a following of believers in a new religion that became known as "Spiritualism".

Sources and Further Reading

1.  Rochester History (April 1956) pg 18
2. Wikipedia:Fox sisters

October 6

October 6, 1823: The stone aqueduct over the Genesee River is opened. Travel along the Erie Canal becomes possible between the Genesee River to Albany and Lake Champlain.

Further Reading:

• University of Rochester: Erie Canal Chronology and Bibliography

September 22

September 22, 1936: Three thousand Rochesterians as well as hundreds of dignitaries from industry, local government, banks, clergy and the press crowd into Sibley's downtown department store as Mayor Stanton unveils the city's first Escalator. At the cost of $250,000, the moving stairway was hailed as a "feat of construction and engineering" and a significant investment in the future of the city.

Information Sources and Further Reading
1. Marcotte, Bob, "Sibley's had humble beginnings", June 15, 2009