Rochester

History

Several indigenous peoples such as Dakota, Ojibway, and Ho-Chunk inhabited the Rochester area. The community was founded by George Head and his wife Henrietta, who built a log cabin named Head's Tavern in 1854. It was named for Head's hometown of Rochester, New York. The city developed as a stagecoach stop along the Zumbro River on a route between Dubuque, Iowa, and Saint Paul, Minnesota. When the Winona and St. Peter Railroad initiated service in October 1864, it brought new residents and business opportunities and spurred growth. In 1863, William W. Mayo arrived as the examining surgeon for Union draftees in the Civil War. The 1883 Rochester Tornado demolished much of Rochester, leaving 37 dead and approximately 200 injured. As there was no medical facility in the immediate area at the time, Mayo and his two sons worked together to care for the wounded. Donations of US$60,000 (US$1,932,562 in 2022) were collected and the Sisters of St. Francis, assisted by Mayo, opened a new facility named St. Marys Hospital in 1889.

Geography

Rochester lies alongside the South Fork of the Zumbro River which is long and is ringed by gentle hills and largely surrounded by farmland within a deciduous forest biome. The Zumbro Watershed flows through of agricultural and urban lands. Located in southeast Minnesota, the City of Rochester lies at the western edge of the Driftless Area, a region that was never glaciated and contains deeply-carved river valleys. The rugged terrain is due both to the lack of glacial deposits, or drift, and to the incision of the upper Mississippi River and its tributaries into bedrock. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. Rochester is in Olmsted County, one of only four counties in Minnesota without a natural lake. Artificial lakes exist in the area, including Silver Lake, a dammed portion of the South Fork Zumbro River just below the convergence with Silver Creek near the city center. Silver Lake was once used as a cooling pond when the coal-burning power plant was operated by Rochester Public Utilities at the lake. When operational, the RPU coal plant's heated water output prevented the lake from generally freezing over during the winter months, attracting large numbers of migrating giant Canada geese. Large murders of crows are known to flock to Rochester during winter, including the Rochester cemetery downtown. Rochester has an extensive parks system, the largest of which are Silver Lake and Soldiers Field in the central part of the city. A major flood in 1978 led the city to embark on an expensive and successful flood-control project that involved altering many nearby rivers and streams. The Zumbro River flowing through the center of the city is presently being readdressed for increased…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  9,270
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  9,144
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  8,535
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,380
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,547
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  7,447
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,440
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,419

Largest nearby schools

• Mayo Senior High
  High · ROCHESTER · 1,862 students · 45.4:1 ratio
• CENTURY SENIOR HIGH
  High · ROCHESTER · 1,698 students · 44.7:1 ratio
• JOHN MARSHALL SENIOR HIGH
  High · ROCHESTER · 1,573 students · 43.7:1 ratio
• WILLOW CREEK MIDDLE
  Middle · ROCHESTER · 890 students · 44.5:1 ratio
• KELLOGG MIDDLE
  Middle · ROCHESTER · 856 students · 40.8:1 ratio
• JOHN ADAMS MIDDLE
  Middle · ROCHESTER · 731 students · 38.5:1 ratio
• Gibbs Elementary
  Elementary · ROCHESTER · 730 students · 19.7:1 ratio
• BYRON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · BYRON · 664 students · 23.7:1 ratio