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US Post Office-East RochesterUS Post Office-East Rochester · Photo: Matthew D. Wilson (LtPowers) · CC BY-SA 3.0
B−History
History · East Rochester

East Rochester dates to 1906, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #684 of 758 in New York. What drives it

Its Register listing is the US Post Office-East Rochester. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1910.

1906founded
1on the National Register
50%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From East Rochester’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How East Rochester began

When was East Rochester founded?

1906

East Rochester dates its founding to 1906 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 2,398 in 19102020 census: 6,334120 years

How historic is East Rochester?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1907.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives East Rochester’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, East Rochester is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #684 of 758 in New York. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of East Rochester’s overall grade.
Founding era1906, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194049.5% of homes (±5.2) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 1.6 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 10%

New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so East Rochester’s 1.6 sits below most of its state (23% of New York towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). Two sources give 1906.

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 East Rochester’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19006 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1971. Watch East Rochester change.Old housesHalf of East Rochester’s homes were built before 1941.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start East Rochester’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how East Rochester’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMDT East Rochester Car Shops circa 1905: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

East Rochester on the map, 1900 to 1971

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of East Rochester. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

East Rochester on the 1900 USGS mapEast Rochester on the 1932 USGS mapEast Rochester on the 1943 USGS mapEast Rochester on the 1952 USGS mapEast Rochester on the 1969 USGS mapEast Rochester on the 1971 USGS map1900Macedon sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of East Rochester.

The story

How East Rochester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of East Rochester.

Read it all →

The village of East Rochester was originally known as the village of Despatch, when the community was incorporated in 1897. Despatch was laid out as a planned community designed around the New York Central Railroad mainline that ran through the center of the village. Much of the original land which became the village came from Fairport businessman Walter Parce. This land was used to develop housing for employees of the earliest employers: the Merchants Despatch Corporation and the Aeolian Piano Corporation. The original buildings of the Aeolian Piano Corporation are still in use today as a shopping center and office complex called Piano Works Mall.

ChaptersBeginningsCoterminous statusDerailments

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

East Rochester, 1900 to 1983

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1901Born hereJ. Eugene Goddard is born here
  4. 1905In the archiveMDT East Rochester Car Shops circa 1905
  5. 1906
    FoundingEast Rochester is established
  6. 1907Post officeThe East Rochester post office opens
  7. 1928In the archiveNorma Shearer in The Actress
  8. 1983In the archiveTurboliner 152
By decade

East Rochester, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1920s2 items
MDT East Rochester Car Shops circa 1905c. 1905MDT East Rochester Car Shops circa 1905Norma Shearer in The Actress1928Norma Shearer in The Actress
1930s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s1 item
Turboliner 1521983Turboliner 152
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today15 recent
West Commercial Street, East Rochester, New York - 20200126 - 022020West Commercial Street, East Rochester, New York - 20…West Commercial Street, East Rochester, New York - 20200126 - 012020West Commercial Street, East Rochester, New York - 20…WaterTowerHistoricalMarkerEastRochesterNewYork2018WaterTowerHistoricalMarkerEastRochesterNewYorkWaterTowerEastRochesterNewYork2018WaterTowerEastRochesterNewYorkTLRMorganMiddleSchool2018TLRMorganMiddleSchoolNickVerzellaGazeboEastRochesterNewYork2018NickVerzellaGazeboEastRochesterNewYorkLoisEBirdElementarySchoolEastRochesterNewYork2018LoisEBirdElementarySchoolEastRochesterNewYorkKateGleasonMemorialEastRochester2018KateGleasonMemorialEastRochesterEastRochesterFirstVillageSchoolsHistoricalMarker2018EastRochesterFirstVillageSchoolsHistoricalMarkerEastRochesterBrownBombersFaceOff2017EastRochesterBrownBombersFaceOffKateGleasonMemorialEastRochesterNewYork2014KateGleasonMemorialEastRochesterNewYorkUS Navy 090529-N-6220J-003 Rear Adm. Thomas Quinn joins students dancing as the U.S. Naval Academy band the2009US Navy 090529-N-6220J-003 Rear Adm. Thomas Quinn joi…US Navy 090529-N-6220J-001 The U.S. Naval Academy band the2009US Navy 090529-N-6220J-001 The U.S. Naval Academy ban…East Rochester Post Office2009East Rochester Post OfficeEast Rochester - Commercial Street2009East Rochester - Commercial Street
Every building

East Rochester, building by building, 1910

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.

East Rochester fire insurance map, 1910, sheet 11910Sheet 1 of 6
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

MDT East Rochester Car Shops circa 1905
Retake this viewMDT East Rochester Car Shops circa 1905, c. 1905

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on East Rochester’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in East Rochester

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
US Post Office-East Rochester
US Post Office-East Rochester
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
US Post Office-East RochesterColonial Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

East Rochester, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,347

Between 2,398 and 8,347 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on East Rochester’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Perinton12 historic placesB+Pittsford8 historic placesA−

Questions about East Rochester’s history

What year was East Rochester founded?

In 1906, according to Wikidata. East Rochester’s post office opened in 1907, and the census of 1910 counted 2,398 people here.

How does East Rochester rank for history?

East Rochester is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #684 of 758 in New York. 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.

What is on the National Register in East Rochester?

One place: the US Post Office-East Rochester (listed 1988).

How old are the homes in East Rochester?

50% of East Rochester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1941.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.