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ROCHESTER,
TEXASHaskell
County, Panhandle/ North Central Texas
Highway 6 and FM 617
10 miles N
of Rule
19 miles NW of Haskell
Population 378
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| | Water
tower in Rochester
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2005 |
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History on a Pinhead
Rochester came into being with the arrival of the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient
Railroad in 1906. A. B. Carothers donated the rail right-of-way and although the
town was to be named in his honor - the name was rejected by postal authorities
and was named after Rochester, New York.
The population was 400 by 1915
and the town incorporated seven years later. It reached its high-water mark just
before WWII when 611 people called it home. The 1990 the population was 458 and
it appears on the 2000 census as 378. |
| | A
closed gas station
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2005 |
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Rochester
Chronicles
Rochester
Teacher by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales" Column)
"...When
the Haskell County community of Marcy made the decision in 1906 to relocate three
miles to be on the right of way of the new Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad,
A.B. Carothers donated the land for the new tracks and 160 acres for the town
site.
In appreciation, the railroad gave him first choice on what the
new town should be called. He thought Carothers, Texas had a nice ring to it,
but a check with postal authorities determined that name had already been taken
in Texas. Not being able to honor the Haskell County land owner, the railroad
opted to call the new town Rochester, after Rochester, N.Y.
His altruistic
spirit not dampened, Carothers paid for construction of a one-room school house.
Classes began in the fall with nine grades and one teacher... more |
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Downtown Rochester
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2005 |
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