There are many things that have helped shape this city over the years but none may be as important to Rochester as the Genesee River. Its role in the birth and initial growth of the city was critical. Without it Rochester probably wouldn't have been.
Because the river drops 225' within Rochester's boundaries it's not exactly a good means of transportation but with the several falls that speckle downtown it provided the awesome power required to make Rochester the Flour City. With the Erie Canal to one side of the city and the Lake to the other, transportation of goods out of Rochester was not a problem. The two combined allowed Rochester to become the largest flour-producing city in North America.
A little about: The Genesee River starts as a spring on a farm in Gold PA, which is in the ![[WWW]](http://rocwiki.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small}
Allegheny Mountains. It runs (and falls) through countryside, towns and small villages until it gets to Rochester where is slashes out into Lake Ontario. The entire run is about 160 miles and the total drop in elevation is about 2240 feet.
Facts:
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1829 Friday November 13, Sam Patch jumps to his death at the High Falls.
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1859 DeLeve crosses High Falls on a tightrope.
Interwiki: located along the river.
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University of Rochester -River Campus
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Head of the Genesee -Annual Regatta
Research:
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Wikipedia.org History, Geography ect.
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VintageViews.org Images
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IMAGE. Old photo of the Genesee downtown where Erie Canal crosses.
![[WWW]](http://www.vintageviews.org/vv-tl/Photos/pix/Riverview.jpg){kind=small}
IMAGE
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2006-11-10 00:11:30 Talking to my Grandmother a few weeks ago, she told me something about a fountain that used to be in the river near the new T-H Bridge. I am not sure of a time line for said fountain, I was just curious if anyone here had a clue about this... Thanks. —PhilTrautman
