More historic than 43% of U.S. towns · #446 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Rochester was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1917 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1834.
History grade
What drives Rochester’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rochester is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #446 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rochester’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rochester’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1819.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Rochester’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rochester yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Rochester is a village and suburb of Springfield in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Rochester had a population of 3,863. The village was settled in 1819, and is located in Rochester Township. Rochester is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Rochester was established in 1819. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,689 to 3,863 (+5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Rochester in 1860
Passages that mention Rochester, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Early history of Rochester. 1810 to 1827, with comparisons of its growth and progress to 18601860 · page 16Read the page →
Read the text
It was built by a company of gentlemen, at the village of the same name, across Genesee river, about one and a half miles north of the village of Rochester. It was completed in February, 1819, under the direction of Brainerd & Chapman.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Early history of Rochester. 1810 to 1827, with comparisons of its growth and progress to 18601860 · page 22Read the page →
Read the text
1834. After several applications made to the Legislature, the city of Rochester was chartered in the spring of 1834. On the incorporation of the village in 1817, about 750 acres were in¬ cluded within its limits. The city charter in 1834, extended its bounds so as to embrace up¬ ward of 4,000 acres.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rochester.
Every building
Rochester, building by building, 1917
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.
1917Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
People over time
Rochester, census by census
Grew from 307 people in 1880 to 3,863 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rochester’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Rochester’s history
What year was Rochester founded?
In 1819, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Rochester’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1880 counted 307 people here.
How does Rochester rank for history?
Rochester is more historic than 43% of U.S. towns, #446 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Rochester?
6% of Rochester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1985.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikidata (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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