Rochester is a village in Racine County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. The population was 3,785 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the former Town of Rochester. On November 4, 2008, the village of Rochester voted to consolidate with the Town of Rochester.

History

The first non-Native American settlers in Rochester were a group of five farming families, who all hailed from the town of Rochester, Vermont after which they gave their new settlement its name. These were " Yankee" settlers, which is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who settled

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

during the colonial era. Correspondingly they were members of the Congregationalist Church and were staunch abolitionists. When they arrived in what is now Rochester there was nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie. They laid out post routes, built roads, constructed farms and government buildings all within the first few months of settling in what is now Rochester. Due to the Second Great Awakening many of them had become Baptists or converted to either Presbyterianism or

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

before coming to what is now Walworth County, Wisconsin. Rochester holds one of the oldest continuously run Memorial Day observances in the nation, having held its first in 1867. The Village was incorporated in 1912. The Village and Town of Rochester consolidated in 2008.

Geography

Rochester is located at (42.740585, -88.224108). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 3,682 people, 1,343 households, and 1,069 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,412 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.5% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population. There were 1,343 households, of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 20.4% were non-families. 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the village was 42 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.5% were from 25 to 44; 34.9% were from 45 to 64; and 10.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 51.1% male and 48.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,149 people, 410 households, and 307 families living in the village. The

was 2,360.6 people per square mile (905.4/km²). There were 425 housing units at an average density of 873.1 per square mile (334.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.30%

, 0.09%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.35% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.70% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. 3.48% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 410 households, out of which 43.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.7% were

living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.22. In the village, the population was spread out, with 30.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males. The median income for a household in the village was $55,063, and the median income for a family was $61,875. Males had a median income of $42,159 versus $30,184 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $21,609. About 4.9% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Maurice L. Ayers, Wisconsin legislator * Ginger Beaumont, baseball player, first man to bat in a World Series * Philo Belden, Wisconsin legislator * Glenn W. Birkett, Wisconsin legislator * Jerome Case, businessman and founder of Case Corporation here * George Ela, Wisconsin legislator * Waldo Flint, Wisconsin legislator * Charles M. Hambright, Wisconsin legislator *

Jane Hamilton Jane Hamilton (born July 13, 1957) is an American novelist. Early life Jane Hamilton was born and grew up in Oak Park, Illinois (U.S.), the youngest of five children. She won prizes for poetry and short stories throughout high school and colle ...

, author * Raymond J. Moyer, Wisconsin legislator * James Tinker, Wisconsin legislator

Images

File:Rochester Wisconsin Post Office.jpg, Post office File:Rochester Wisconsin Sign.jpg, Sign entering Rochester File:Rochester Wisconsin Downtown Looking East.jpg, Looking east in downtown Rochester

References

External links

Village of Rochester, Wisconsin - Official Website
{{authority control Villages in Racine County, Wisconsin Villages in Wisconsin