Exurb(s) of the WeeK: Rochester, East Rochester, Rochester Township (Pittsburgh: crime, homes)

[runpens1]

This week I am doing one of my rare combination posts, combining three municipalities into one. Rochester, East Rochester, and Rochester Township are a series of small municipalities located in Beaver County approximately 25 miles northwest of downtown Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River, near its junction with the Beaver River. Combined, they have a population of about 6,800 and are all served by the Rochester Area School District.

Rochester borough was first settled in the late 18th Century in what was then considered the American frontier by white settlers and was known as East Bridgewater, Fairport, and Beaver Point. The town was then given the name Rochester by the mid 19th Century after a local businessman who who did regular business in Pittsburgh decided to christen his home with the name Rochester so he could have a unique name to stamp his goods. Like many river towns in western Pennsylvania, Rochester used to be a large industrial hub, with the H. C. Fry Glass Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad being its major employers. Its population growth continued up until the Great Depression. It reached a peak of 7,700 in 1930 and its slide has continued to this day. Its population currently stands at about 3,500. Like many former thriving industrial towns, it has been hit by problems of abandoned factories, deteriorating housing, and modest crime rising over time. There still are pockets of active business districts within the borough though, mostly along rt. 68 and off the rt. 65 bypass.

East Rochester borough is a much smaller borough located just to south of Rochester along the river and rt. 65. It is only about 0.4 sq mil. and has a population of just under 600. The borough was incorporated in the early 20th Century from neighboring Rochester Township, which it was presumably a village located in. The town used to be called “Seldom Seen” since residential areas were separated from the main road by the railroad. To this day, that still seems to be the case as there are small portions of the borough that blend in with the town of Rochester and there are other smaller homes on the hill in a more wooded setting. The housing stock looks to be a little bit better than Rochester itself. there is a smaller strip mall and a few roadside businesses within the borough along rt. 65.

Rochester Township is a smaller (only about 4 sq. mil.), typical exurban to rural township for this area. It is located slightly northeast of the borough of Rochester. It was formed from New Sewickley Township (to its east) by an Act of the Legislature that was approved on April 14, 1840.The township is a mix of small portions that blend in with Rochester, some post-war suburban developments that most likely served as direct suburbs for Rochester and other industrial towns in the area, and rural farmland that never got built out. While there isn't much of a business district within the township, there does still seem to be some of the light manufacturing that still takes place in the area near the Beaver River and the Beaver County YMCA is actually in Rochester Township.

While Rochester area has definitely shown its sign of aging, it may turn out ok in the near future as much of Beaver County has been making a comeback due to its proximity to other growing areas and economic boom from the Shell Cracker plant.