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History · Rochester Township

Rochester Township’s post office opened in 1883, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Henry Bradford Farm. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1880.

1883first post office
1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Rochester Township began

When was Rochester Township founded?

1883

The Rochester Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 237 in 18802020 census: 792143 years
Founding year: the first Rochester Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Rochester Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Rochester Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19083 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1973. Watch Rochester Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Rochester Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Rochester Township on the map, 1908 to 1973

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

Rochester Township on the 1908 USGS mapRochester Township on the 1960 USGS mapRochester Township on the 1973 USGS map1908New London 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 Rochester Township.

The story so far

Rochester Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Rochester Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Rochester is a village in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, along the West Branch of the Black River. The population was 159 at the 2020 census. The village derives its name from Rochester, New York, the native home of a land agent.

Its first post office opened in 1883. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 799 in 2010, 792 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Rochester Township, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Rochester, Ohio Methodist Church2016Rochester, Ohio Methodist ChurchRochester, Ohio Baptist Church2016Rochester, Ohio Baptist ChurchRochester Town and Township Hall2016Rochester Town and Township HallMap of Lorain County Ohio Highlighting Rochester Village2015Map of Lorain County Ohio Highlighting Rochester Vill…MapOHMap-doton-Rochester2004OHMap-doton-Rochester
On the National Register

1 historic place in Rochester Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Henry Bradford Farm
Henry Bradford Farm
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1
Second Empire1
Queen Anne1
Henry Bradford FarmItalianate

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

People over time

Rochester Township, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 237

Between 157 and 237 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Semples
Gone or out of use
Buckley SchoolschoolFay SchoolschoolThomas Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Rochester Township
BeckleyRochester

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Brighton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTroy Township2 historic placesA+New London Township2 historic placesAHuntington Township19 historic placesA

Questions about Rochester Township’s history

What year was Rochester Township founded?

The Rochester Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Rochester Township?

One place: the Henry Bradford Farm (listed 1982).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.