The Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi and Wyandot peoples all resided in the Rochester area. All of them ceded land claims by the early 19th century. The first settlers in what would become Rochester, the Graham family, built a log cabin in 1817. The cabin was located on present-day 3rd St., just west of Main. The city was named for Rochester, New York, just like Rochester, Minnesota, as many early settlers to the area were formerly from the state of New York. The city became an industrial center with abundant water power from the Clinton River and Paint Creek. The interconnected waterways are no longer used for travel or local industry, but provide natural beauty, some fishing, and a healthy portion of the Clinton Watershed. Historically, past industries formerly located in Rochester included a refinery for sugar beets, a paper products company, and the Western Knitting Mills factory, which was later adapted and utilized during World War II for incendiary production—businesses that no longer exist in the area. Rochester was served by two railroads as well as the Detroit United Railway, an interurban to Royal Oak and Detroit.
The Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi and Wyandot peoples all resided in the Ro,chester area. All of them ceded land claims by the early 19th century. The first settlers in what would become Rochester, the Graham family, built a log cabin in 1817. The cabin was located on present-day 3rd St., just west of Main. The city was named for Rochester, New York, just like Rochester, Minnesota, as many early settlers to the area were formerly from the state of New York. The city became an industrial center with abundant water power from the Clinton River and Paint Creek. The interconnected waterways are no longer used for travel or local industry, but provide natural beauty some fishing, and a healthy portion of the Clinton Watershed Historically, past industries formerly located in Rochester included a refinery for sugar beets, a paper products company, and the Western Knitting Mills factory, which was later adapted and utilized during World War II for incendiary producti.on—busines.ses that no longer exist in the area. Rochester was served by two railroads as well as the Detroit United Railway, an interurban to Royal Oak and Detroit