Rochester is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston, ...

, United States. The population was 7,305 at the 2022 census. It is an interior town located near the center of

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...

. The northwestern part of the town is in the

Catskill Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in the U.S. state of New York. It consists of of land inside a Blue Line in four counties: Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster. As of 2005, or 41 percent of the land within, is owned by ...

. U.S. Route 209 passes across the town.

History

Mombaccus was the Dutch name for the area that became the town of Rochester. It was first settled by Europeans in 1672. The name Rochester began with the issuance of a land patent in 1703. It became a town in 1788, and the formal establishment of the town of Rochester occurred in 1803. Parts of Rochester were used to create the towns of Middletown in 1798 (now in Delaware County), Neversink in 1798 (now in Sullivan County), Wawarsing in 1806, and

Gardiner Gardiner may refer to: Places Settlements ;Canada * Gardiner, Ontario ;United States * Gardiner, Maine * Gardiner, Montana * Gardiner (town), New York ** Gardiner (CDP), New York * Gardiner, Oregon * Gardiner, Washington * West Gardiner, ...

in 1853.

Geography

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 town has a total area of , of which are land and (0.42%) is covered by water. Rochester lies in the foothills of the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

Demographics

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 2000, there were 7,018 people, 2,688 households, and 1,830 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,750 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.42%

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 ...

, 2.51%

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 ...

, .54% Native American, .51% Asian, .04%

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 ...

, .83% from other races, and 2.15% 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 4.83% of the population. There were 2,688 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52% 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, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.10. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,071, and the median income for a family was $47,257. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $24,773 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 town was $21,065. About 8.2% of families and 10.9% 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 17.2% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations in Rochester

Accord Accord may refer to: Businesses and products * Honda Accord, a car manufactured by the Honda Motor Company * Accord (cigarette), a brand of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges * Accord (company), a former public services provider in south England * Accord ...

– a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

that is the seat of town government. *Alligerville – a hamlet near the eastern town line. The Alligerville Historic District was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2015. *Cherrytown – a hamlet northwest of Mombaccus. *Fantinekill – a hamlet north of Kerhonkson and Pataukunk on Route 3. *Granite – a hamlet south of Kerhonkson. *

Kerhonkson Kerhonkson is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 1,722 at the 2020 census. The Kerhonkson CDP is an urban concentration that straddles the border of the town of Rochester a ...

– a hamlet located at the western town line on

US 209 U.S. Route 209 (US 209) is a long U.S. Highway in the states of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. Although the route is a spur of U.S. Route 9, US 9, US 209 never intersects US 9, coming within five miles of ...

. *Liebhart – a hamlet in the northern part of the town, east of Tabasco. *Kyserike – a hamlet near the eastern town boundary, east of Alligerville. *Mettacahonts – a hamlet north of Accord. *Mill Hook – a hamlet northwest of Accord. *Minniwaska – a hamlet near the southern town line. * Minnewaska State Park – a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

partly in the southern section of Rochester. *

Mohonk Preserve The Mohonk Preserve is a nature preserve in the Shawangunk Ridge, north of New York City in Ulster County, New York. The preserve has over of cliffs, forests, fields, ponds and streams, with over of carriage roads and of trails for hiking, ...

– a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

partially in the eastern part of the town. Part of Lake Mohonk is within the town also. *Mombaccus – a hamlet north of Fantinekill on Route 3. * Palentown – a hamlet in the northwestern part of the town, inside the Catskill State Park. *Pataukunk – a hamlet north of Kerhonkson on Route 3. *Pine Bush – a location on the western town line, north of Kerhonkson. *Potterville – a hamlet by the town line in the northwestern part of the town, and inside the Catskill State Park. *Riggsville – a hamlet in the northwestern part of the town, inside the Catskill State Park, southwest of Palentown. *St. Joseph – a hamlet southeast of Accord. *Tabasco – a hamlet in the northern part of the town on Route 3. *Whitfield – a hamlet northeast of Accord. *Yagerville – a location south of Potterville, located in the Catskill State Park.

References

External links

Town website
{{authority control Towns in Ulster County, New York Towns in New York (state) Populated places established in 1700 1700 establishments in the Province of New York