Rochester from the beginning
This One Hundred Acre Tract was surveyed beginning in 1811, streets and roads were laid out, and in 1817 the original founders joined their holdings with that of other area landholders to form the Village of Rochesterville. 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. The Erie Canal Aqueduct, at the site of the modern day Broad Street Bridge in downtown Rochester NY, was built in 1823 to direct the waters of the newly constructed Erie Canal over the Genesee River. 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.