1722Government
Incorporated in 1722, it was named for his close friend, Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, brother-in-law to King James II.
1737Government
=== Rochester Common ===
In 1737, the Reverend Amos Main became the first settled pastor of the Congregational Church, located on Rochester Hill.
1738History
By 1738, the farming community contained 60 families.
1750Education
=== Early education ===
In 1750, Rochester voted at a town meeting to establish a public school to teach writing and reading to the town's children.
1752Education
In 1752 the first public schooling began.
1768Government
=== Growth through the 19th century ===
Mail service was established in 1768 when a post rider traveled from Portsmouth through Berwick, Dover and Rochester bringing gazettes.
1780Government
By 1780 the area surrounding the Common was the most thickly settled part of town, so a meeting house/church was erected on the east end of the Common with the entrance facing w...
1783Education
In 1783 the state demanded that schools were opened permanently or else the state would penalize them.
1792History
In 1792 this improved when Joseph Paine would deliver and pick up mail once a week.
1806Education
In 1806 the school system was divided into districts in accordance with state law that was passed in 1805.
1812Civil Rights
A regular post office was established on March 26, 1812, in the Barke Tavern.
1834Military
The Mechanics Company was established in 1834, producing woolen blankets that won the premium quality award at the 1853 New York World's Fair.
1842History
In 1842 the Meeting House/church was moved to the present-day location at the corner of Liberty and South Main streets.
1850Education
In 1850 the city voted to allow high schools and the funding of them.
1857Education
The first high school opened in 1857.
1868Education
However money was not actually raised for high schools until 1868.
1870Military
The Norway Plains Woolen Company manufactured blankets used by the Union Army in the Civil War, and in 1870 wove 1,600,000 yards (1,500,000 m) of textiles, but by century's end ...
1875Government
Agriculture continued to be important, and in 1875 the Rochester Fair was established.
1880Economy
Shoe manufacturing had surpassed textiles as Rochester's dominant industry by 1880.
1884History
This system of districts remained in place until 1884 when laws regarding districts changed.
1885History
The first telephone was installed in 1885 in the K.C.
1887Government
Adams designed other municipal government/opera house dual-purpose buildings around New England, including in Bellows Falls, Vermont (1887); Amesbury, Massachusetts (1887); Dove...
1889Disaster
The Kessel Fire Brick Company was established in 1889, and at one time bricks for new buildings at Harvard University were made in Gonic.
1891Government
In 1891, Rochester was incorporated as a city.
1893Culture
=== Library ===
The Rochester Public Library was approved in 1893 but was not open to the public until early 1894.
1897Culture
In 1897, the library moved to City Hall, where it remained for over eight years.
1901Government
Wallace Shoe Company was established, eventually becoming the city's largest employer, with over 700 workers in 1901.
1905Architecture
The library opened on October 2, 1905, and 150 people registered the first day.
1908Architecture
=== City Hall and Opera House ===
Another notable structure is Rochester City Hall, built in 1908, and Opera House designed by George G.
1914Architecture
A bandstand was constructed in 1914.
1917History
Frank Place in 1917.
1929Culture
Rochester passed out of the silent film era on May 20, 1929, with the arrival of the first talking motion picture in the city, titled The Wild Party, starring Clara Bow.
1931Economy
By 1931 the firm had also taken over the Linscott, Tyler, Wilson factory off Wakefield Street in Rochester, which it purchased outright in May 1932.
1934Economy
In 1934 the Maybury Shoe Company began operations on the former E.G.
1945History
Miss Lillian Parshley was the first librarian, serving until her death in 1945.
1947History
=== Natural disasters ===
The summer of 1947 was dry.
1954Disaster
Hurricane Carol struck New Hampshire on September 2, 1954.
1973Economy
Hubbard Shoe Company went out of business in 1973, and Maybury Shoe closed in the mid-1970s.
2010History
Rochester was one of New Hampshire's fastest growing cities between 2010 and 2020.
2011History
For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $46,979, and the median income for a family was $59,519.