Rochester

History

The first non-Native American settlers in Rochester were a group of five farming families, who all hailed from the town of Rochester, Vermont after which they gave their new settlement its name. These were "Yankee" settlers, which is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who settled New England during the colonial era. Correspondingly they were members of the Congregationalist Church and were staunch abolitionists. When they arrived in what is now Rochester there was nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie. They laid out post routes, built roads, constructed farms and government buildings all within the first few months of settling in what is now Rochester. Due to the Second Great Awakening, many of them had become Baptists or converted to either Presbyterianism or Methodism before coming to what is now Walworth County. Rochester holds one of the oldest continuously run Memorial Day observances in the nation, having held its first in 1867. The Village was incorporated in 1912. The Village and Town of Rochester consolidated in 2008.

Geography

Rochester is located at (42.740585, -88.224108). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,379
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,073
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,785
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,576
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,547
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  4,515
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,409
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,211

Largest nearby schools

• Burlington High
  High · Burlington · 1,029 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Waterford High
  High · Waterford · 952 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Nettie E Karcher School
  Middle · Burlington · 600 students · 14:1 ratio
• Fox River Middle
  Middle · Waterford · 478 students · 12.3:1 ratio
• Dr Edward G Dyer School
  Elementary · Burlington · 398 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Trailside Elementary
  Elementary · Waterford · 338 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Woodfield Elementary
  Elementary · Waterford · 333 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Cooper Elementary
  Elementary · Burlington · 325 students · 13.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois
• M 3.8 — 2010-02-10
  2 km NW of Lily Lake, Illinois