Rochester What you need to know
Rochesterville, its name shortened to Rochester by 1823, soon became the seat of Monroe County, New York and was rechartered as a city in 1834. By 1823, the Erie Canal had made its way westward, and an aqueduct was constructed over the Genesee River at the site of the present day Broad Street Bridge in downtown Rochester, NY. Rochester was now connected to all points east and west by the Erie Canal. Having grown to the largest flour producing city in the United States by 1838, Rochester ny became known as the Flour City. Its population had also doubled by that time, making Rochester the first boomtown of the United States.