On Sunday, our fair city turned 190 years old, so today we’re kicking off a Rochester theme week! We’re starting with our founder and namesake, Nathaniel Rochester. He was born in Virginia and was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He later became a very successful merchant in Hagerstown Maryland, where he was partner in numerous businesses and helped found the Hagerstown Bank, serving as its first president. After 30 years in Maryland, two of the bank’s directors convinced him to travel to what was then the “frontier” of the U.S. to acquire land. They set off in 1800, first arriving in Dansville, where Rochester bought 520 acres. A land agent then told them about the Genesee Falls farther north. They found an abandoned grist and sawmill there, and recognized a business opportunity. They signed a purchase agreement for 100 acres near the river’s Upper Falls in 1803. They originally called the settlement Rochesterville. The -ville was dropped in 1822. By 1830, the population swelled to over 9,000, and in 1834 it was rechartered as a city. Nathaniel Rochester was very impactful in the growth of the city and county, playing an active role in politics and even serving as the first president of the school that would become RIT. He died in 1831 and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetary. Learn more here.