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Rochester on the Genesee: The Growth of a City
Blake McKelvey has updated this new edition on Rochester at 150 years old, adding fresh material about its changing economy, rejuvenated downtown, and current housing and educational programs. He also includes informed and thought-provoking projections about the city's future.
- GenresHistory
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
14 people want to read
About the author
Blake McKelvey
62 books1 followerBlake McKelvey was the City Historian for Rochester, NY from 1936 until his death in 2000. He is the author of over twenty-five books about Rochester, as well as several landmark studies on American penal institutions and urbanization.
He graduated from Syracuse University in 1925 and earned his Ph.D. from Harvard.
More information.
He graduated from Syracuse University in 1925 and earned his Ph.D. from Harvard.
More information.
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September 25, 2025Deciding not to give this book a star rating since I didn’t finish it. Maybe I’ll return someday and read the whole thing. I’ve read passages of this book, some once, some more than once. Recently revisited the first chapter to refresh myself on early Rochester history (founding/1790-1830s). I was planning to read the whole thing but I hit a wall after the first chapter bc it’s just so damn boring. And I’m saying that as someone with a history degree, and a particular interested in Rochester, WNY, and NYS history, not just a random passerby who decided to pick up this book.
Look, McKelvey knows his stuff. He was the city historian, and this book certainly presents a thorough breakdown of the series of events that lead to Rochester becoming a city. Can’t speak on the whole book, like i said, but chapter 1 alone had me kind of wanting to tear my hair out with the strange way he talks about the people indigenous to the area. The fact that he completely ignores the issue of slavery, including the numerous ties of Rochester’s three founders to slavery, also just really bothers me. While he gives a comprehensive sequence of events, he is not telling the whole story. Most social histories of Rochester go more postmodern and focus on the civil rights movement (1950-80s) OR focus on the 1850s with abolition or women’s rights. With this book, McKelvey really had the opportunity to cement Rochester’s early history as a key piece of the social unrest that followed. But he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t tell the story of the people of Rochester, he just gives the names and dates that created it. In fairness to McKelvey, he did write this book before subsequent social histories had really been written, but these facts have still always been easily accessible, particular for the literal city historian of decades! Sure, there’s a place for a book like this in history, and if that’s your cup of tea then fine I guess, but it’s not mine, and certainly didn’t compel me to finish this book. Whatever. From a historical standpoint, this book isn’t for me. It doesn’t dig into any of the stuff I find remotely fascinating about Rochester’s history.
If you’re reading this and had similar qualms to me, I’d highly recommend you read Strike the Hammer by Laura Warren Hill. It focuses on a later period (20th century), but is far more interesting and presents a compelling argument. There is also an RIT professor currently working on a Frederick Douglass biography focusing on his time in Rochester, which is also sure to be a fascinating read.
Look, McKelvey knows his stuff. He was the city historian, and this book certainly presents a thorough breakdown of the series of events that lead to Rochester becoming a city. Can’t speak on the whole book, like i said, but chapter 1 alone had me kind of wanting to tear my hair out with the strange way he talks about the people indigenous to the area. The fact that he completely ignores the issue of slavery, including the numerous ties of Rochester’s three founders to slavery, also just really bothers me. While he gives a comprehensive sequence of events, he is not telling the whole story. Most social histories of Rochester go more postmodern and focus on the civil rights movement (1950-80s) OR focus on the 1850s with abolition or women’s rights. With this book, McKelvey really had the opportunity to cement Rochester’s early history as a key piece of the social unrest that followed. But he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t tell the story of the people of Rochester, he just gives the names and dates that created it. In fairness to McKelvey, he did write this book before subsequent social histories had really been written, but these facts have still always been easily accessible, particular for the literal city historian of decades! Sure, there’s a place for a book like this in history, and if that’s your cup of tea then fine I guess, but it’s not mine, and certainly didn’t compel me to finish this book. Whatever. From a historical standpoint, this book isn’t for me. It doesn’t dig into any of the stuff I find remotely fascinating about Rochester’s history.
If you’re reading this and had similar qualms to me, I’d highly recommend you read Strike the Hammer by Laura Warren Hill. It focuses on a later period (20th century), but is far more interesting and presents a compelling argument. There is also an RIT professor currently working on a Frederick Douglass biography focusing on his time in Rochester, which is also sure to be a fascinating read.
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