Rochester Downtown Historic District
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Rochester Downtown Historic District
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Intersection in the district
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| Location | Roughly bounded along Main St. and the Courthouse Square, Rochester, Indiana |
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| Coordinates | 41°4′24″N 86°13′30″W / 41.07333°N 86.22500°WCoordinates: 41°4′24″N 86°13′30″W / 41.07333°N 86.22500°W |
| Architect | Rush, A.W. & Son; et al. |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian, Colonial Revival, Romanesque |
| NRHP Reference # | 08000556 |
| Added to NRHP | June 24, 2008 |
The Rochester Downtown Historic District is a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in Rochester, Indiana, United States. It was placed on the Register on June 24, 2008. The majority of buildings in the area are masonry and Italianate while structures outside the district are largely residential frame built structures.
Rochester was founded as a trading post in 1831 between the European settlers and local Native Americans, along the old Michigan Road where it intersected Mill Creek. Most of the contributing buildings lie along the old Michigan Road, now Main Street, in a right-of-way pattern (the newer, non-contributing buildings do not follow this pattern).
Alexander Chamberlain built the first tavern-hotel in Rochester in 1835, the same year, he and Lot Bozarth filed a plat for the town of Rochester. In 1836, Cyrus Taber with William and George Ewing expanded the original plat south one block to include what is now the courthouse square. The first courthouse was built of wood in 1837 along with a jail. Rochester’s location on the Michigan Road contributed to continued growth. By 1840, there were several three story buildings and 300 residents.
The current courthouse was built in 1895-1896 and the old jail replaced in 1851. The Indianapolis, Peru and Chicago Railroad arrived in 1869, and brick became the norm for commercial construction.
Prominent buildings in the district include the Fulton County Courthouse (which is a Richardsonian Romanesque building also NRHP-listed), a water tower, Rochester City Hall & Fire Department, post office, and telephone company.
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