Rochester

Rochester Municipal Water Report Info

For thousands of years, indigenous communities settled and traveled through the region now known as Minnesota. These communities came from Upper Mississippi cultures, Northern Woodlands, and Western Prairies. In recent centuries, the Dakota/Sioux, Ojibway, and Winnebago most frequently inhabited this territory.

The earliest European explorers arrived seeking a Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean. French explorers Father Louis Hennepin and Pierre Le Sueur first appeared in 1660, followed later by Jonathan Carver and other English travelers paddling birch bark canoes either up the Mississippi or across Lake Superior.

For nearly two centuries after Hennepin's journey, few non-natives had seen southeastern Minnesota's rolling fields and deep valleys. In 1853, the Dakota/Sioux Indians ceded the area including Rochester to the Territory of Minnesota through a government agreement.

Rochester developed as a stop along the Dubuque trail, a stagecoach route between St. Paul and Dubuque, Iowa. Located at a crossroads near the Zumbro River, travelers would camp and water their animals here. On July 12, 1854, George Head claimed land that now forms part of Rochester's central business district, building a log cabin called Head's Tavern. He named the city after his hometown of Rochester, NY.

In 1855, the territorial legislature created Olmsted County, named after David Olmsted, St. Paul's first mayor who never resided in the county. Rochester became the county seat and was incorporated on August 5, 1858. Drawn by affordable, fertile farmland, settlers rapidly followed Head, and within six years, the town's population reached 1,424.

In 1863, English immigrant Dr. William Worrall Mayo arrived from Le Sueur, Minnesota to become examining physician for Civil War draftees. Dr. Mayo remained as Rochester's "County Doctor." The following year, Rochester became a stop on the Winona and St. Peter Railroad, later sold to the Chicago and Northwestern Transportation Company, allowing regional farmers and businesses access to national markets.

By 1880, Rochester had become a regional center with 5,103 residents. On August 12, 1883, a devastating tornado killed 24 people, injured 100, and destroyed 150 buildings. The Sisters of Saint Francis and Dr. Mayo and his sons assisted those injured. Sister Mary Alfred Moes, convinced Rochester needed a permanent medical facility, proposed that the Sisters would build a hospital if Dr. Mayo and his sons William and Charles would provide medical staff. This collaboration established St. Marys Hospital in 1889 with 27 beds.

Additional physicians joined the Mayos, developing scientific laboratories to refine medical knowledge. By 1915, five more doctors had joined (Stinchfield, Millet, Graham, Plummer and Balfour). The 1914 red clinic building was outgrown, and the historic Plummer Building opened in 1927. By 1929, 386 physicians worked under the Mayo name, establishing the group medical practice concept based on collaboration and combined wisdom.

Mayo Clinic physicians gained renown for pioneering medical practices, and continued expanding clinic operations, research and educational facilities. Increasing demand led to construction of the Mayo Building's first phase in 1955. At St. Marys, the Joseph (1922), Francis (1941) and Domitilla (1956) buildings expanded hospital services.

IBM's arrival marked another milestone for Rochester. Thomas J. Watson, Jr., later IBM's second President, had befriended fellow WWII pilot Leland Fiegel from Rochester. After Watson became CEO in 1962, IBM decided to expand in the Upper Midwest. When choosing between comparable sites in Madison, Wisconsin and Rochester, Watson selected Rochester to honor his friend Leland, who had died in a 1948 plane crash.

In February 1956, IBM announced plans for new manufacturing, engineering and educational facilities on a 397-acre Rochester site. Starting with 174 employees, IBM Rochester grew to 1,800 by the 1958 opening of the first "blue" building, designed by architect Eero Saarinen. This facility eventually became IBM's largest building under one roof, with the workforce expanding to approximately 6,000 by the late 1970s. IBM reinforced Rochester's reputation for innovation, reflected in consistently high national rankings for patents filed per capita.

Rochester's location on the South Fork of the Zumbro River, with its network of small creeks, made the city vulnerable to seasonal flash flooding. After serious floods in the 1950s and a catastrophic flood in 1965, city and county planners requested help creating a flood control system.

In 1978, two major flood events finally prompted action. On July 5, 1978, a massive rainstorm delivered nearly 7 inches of precipitation, causing the Zumbro River to rise at one foot per hour throughout the night. The July 6th peak set an all-time record of 23.36 feet and 30,500 cubic feet per second, exceeding the previous record by more than 4 feet. The floodwaters affected approximately one-third of the city, causing five deaths and $60 million in damages. A second flood followed just two months later on September 12.

These events prompted Congress to approve a major flood control project, completed in 1996 at a total cost of $140 million. The project protects much of the city against a 200-year flood event, while its recreational component created 10 miles of bicycle and pedestrian trails that formed the foundation of the city's extensive trail network.