Long before the coming of Europeans, members of the Chippewa and Sioux nations lived in the area of the Minnesota Territory. Rochester was founded in 1854 when a group of U.S. surveyors staked claims on the banks of the Zumbro River. George Head began a pioneer settlement there, and by 1888, the settlement, which Head named in honor of his hometown in New York, had grown to 1,500 people. Many of those drawn to the area came because of the fertile farmland. In 1863 William Worall Mayo, examining surgeon for the Union Army Enrollment Board, settled in the town and, along with his sons, founded a medical practice. The Mayo Medical Center, which started out in a five-story brick building, now occupies about 10 million square feet.
The coming of the east-west railroad in the 1880s, which provided an excellent distribution system for the local farmers' products, added to the growth of the community, and agriculture has continued to be an important part of the local economy. A terrible tornado struck the city in 1883, and doctors were forced to treat its many victims under inadequate, makeshift conditions. Mother Alfred Moes, founder of the Sisters of St. Francis, proposed the building and staffing of a hospital, in which W.W. Mayo would provide the care. In 1889 St. Mary's Hospital opened with 27 beds.
Beginning in 1892, new staff members were added to the Mayo Clinic team. Dr. Henry Plummer, from a nearby small town, joined the Mayos in 1892, and designed many group practice systems that are the basis for those used today. They include the use of a common medical record, X-rays, conveyors for moving records, a registration system, and one of the first telephone paging systems. In 1907 the first patient registration number was assigned.
As physicians from around the world came to observe how the Mayo Clinic was operated, the clinic in 1915 initiated one of the world's first graduate training programs for doctors, called the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. In 1919 the Mayos turned over all their profits and established the nonprofit Mayo Properties Association. Both of the Mayo brothers died within months of one another in 1939, but their work continued.
The local economy developed in a new direction with the establishment of an International Business Machines (IBM) plant in the 1950s. In 1990 that plant earned the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
The Mayo Medical School opened in 1972. The integration of Mayo Clinic Rochester, Saint Mary's Hospital, and Rochester Methodist Hospital took place in 1986, and that same year the clinic expanded with the opening of Mayo Clinic Jacksonville (Florida). In 1987 Mayo Clinic Scottsdale (Arizona) opened, and St. Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville became part of Mayo.
In 1992 a merger took place between Mayo Clinic and Luther Hospital and Midelfort Clinic in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. That same year Mayo affiliated with Decorah Medical Associates in Decorah, Iowa, and Community Clinics in Wabasha, Minnesota. Today, the Mayo Clinic along with a symphony orchestra, museums, and other amenities contribute to Rochester's livability. Since the turn of the century, Rochester has become the new home for more than 2,000 citizens each year. As a result, the city's mayor adopted a "smart growth" program to accommodate these newcomers into Rochester's existing population.
Historical Information: History Center of Olmstead County, 1195 W. Circle Dr. SW, Rochester, MN 55902; telephone (507)282-9447